


A Raven and a Bat to See the Light in One Another

by Story_Mage



Series: And so the King Decrees For... [1]
Category: South Park
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Butters is bi, Eric Cartman Being An Asshole, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Forced Relationship, I love Stutters so much, M/M, References to Depression, Stan Marsh Being an Asshole, Stan is questioning, The King's Game, This one is mainly Stan/Butters, Underage Drinking, dares, stutters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:00:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 32,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24844213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Story_Mage/pseuds/Story_Mage
Summary: It was only meant to be a stupid game of dares, 'The King's Game.' But, of course, nothing could go Stan's way. Cartman thought it would be hilarious to get under everyone's skin with his stupid dare and he did. Now, Stan had no way of getting back with Wendy because he was stuck with this dare.Butters didn't care too much about the dare in its entirety. Stan was a cool guy and maybe they could get closer. He didn't see anything wrong with this dare from Eric. But, oh boy, if his parents knew, he'd sure be grounded. After this dare ends, he and Stan could still be friends, right?What was the dare?:Stan and Butters were forced to date for two months.
Relationships: (one-sided) Stan Marsh/Wendy Testaburger, Craig Tucker/Tweek Tweak, Kenny McCormick/Tweek Tweak, Kyle Broflovski/Craig Tucker, Red/Bebe Stevens, Stan Marsh/Leopold "Butters" Stotch, Token Black/Nichole Daniels
Series: And so the King Decrees For... [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1797193
Comments: 33
Kudos: 59





	1. Chapter 1

The scene takes place at Token’s new place.

It was a party that Stan was invited to. One being thrown by Clyde.

As much as he didn’t want to go, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to go for a few hours. Stan decided to go with Kyle, well, more like dragged him along so he could relax a bit. He’s been holed up in his room, overworking himself with his studies. He knew it would be far-fetched that Kyle would want to stay for the entire duration of the party, but he had to try.

By the time they reached the party, people were already piled inside while others lounged outdoors. As they both exited Stan’s Honda, Stan heard Kyle mutter complaints under his breath about being there. They both trudged their way to the large house and shimmied their way inside. 

The music was loud, people were laughing and drinking, and drinking games were being played. Stan made sure to keep Kyle beside him, knowing that if he had a chance, he would dip out with someone else. He wrapped his arm around his shoulder and led him to the kitchen where he was sure the drinks were going to be. Stan motioned for Kyle to choose his drink as he began to dig through a nearby cooler.

Kyle got to work on his drink while Stan cracked open a can for himself. He looked around the small group of people in the kitchen. A group of four were trying to chug down as much alcohol as they could and a couple was making out in the corner. He looked back at Kyle who was now adding ice to his drink. “Do you think Wendy’s here?”

Kyle glanced over at him, one of his eyebrows raised in question as he took a sip of his concoction. “Why?”

Stan shrugged. “I just want to talk to her.”

“For?”

Stan huffed. “Why does it matter?”

Kyle rolled his eyes. “Dude, you need to get over it. She’s made it clear she doesn’t want to be with you anymore.” Kyle had his eyebrows knitted together as he stared down at the drink in his hand. 

“Thanks for your support,” Stan’s sarcastic comment earned a glare from him.

“You know what, I’m leaving.” Kyle slammed his cup down on a nearby table. “I’m not going to stay here just to hear you bitch about Wendy.” He shouldered Stan out of his way. “I have to get back to my applications anyway.”

Stan felt his body run cold. He grabbed his best friend’s arm to stop him. “No, wait. I’m sorry, Kyle. Don’t leave. You’re stressing yourself out a lot more than you need to. Just relax a little.” Stan could see Kyle clenching his jaw. “If you still want to leave after an hour, we can.”

Kyle pulled his arm away. “Fine,” He turned back to face him, “but if you mention Wendy _one more time_ …”

“Okay, okay.” Stan held his hand up to stop him. “I got it.”

Stan did as he promised and held his tongue about Wendy for the rest of their time there. And sure enough, as long as he did, Kyle loosened up more bit by bit. Though, that came to a quick end when they met up with Cartman, Kenny, and Butters. Knowing Cartman was there made Kyle visibly tense. Stan, not wanting him to leave, placed a hand on his shoulder, gently massaging it to show that there was no need to fight with him _again_. 

Of course, Cartman had a sneering remark to say to Kyle, there was no way there wouldn’t. 

Kenny brushed Cartman away from the two and placed a sloppy kiss on each of their cheeks with a, “Hey, dudes! You showed up!”

Butters gave the two a large smile and a small wave. “Heya, fellas!”

The group of five stayed together for the remainder of their time, though as many times as they tried, they couldn’t shake off Cartman. The longer they stayed, the more people they found to interact with - Red, Craig, Tweek, Annie, and so on. Stan kept on glancing around for a familiar ravenette but didn’t dare share that fact with his best friend. Instead, with every look without the girl in sight, Stan took another gulp of his beer.

Soon enough, Kyle began to complain to Stan about being there, and so, their time came to an end. Stan and Kyle began to say their ‘goodbye’s’ to their friends and began to find the two hosts of the party. 

They made their way up the stairs where Clyde and Token were. Leaning against the second-floor railing, looking over the party. Token seemed to be getting more and more annoyed the closer Stan got. 

Once they reached them, Stan spoke up. “Hey, dudes. We’re gonna head out now.”

“Head out?” Clyde’s eyebrows knitted together in worry. “No, no. Stay for a little longer.” He turned to Token. “Please, Token.”

He rolled his eyes. “If you really want to do that, we’re gonna have to end the party now.”

Clyde groaned and stomped his foot like an angry child. “ _Fine_.” He pulled out his phone and began to quickly type away.

Token turned to Stan. “Just wait a few minutes when everyone leaves. Clyde wants us to do something and he won’t stop crying about it.”

“I don’t do that!”

“Mmm-hm.” Token turned back to look over the party. “Everybody! Listen up!” The party slowly dwindled to a silence. “This party is ending in ten minutes, I need you all to go! Take the rest of the booze if you want, I don’t care, just leave!”

The crowd didn’t take long to disperse either to different parts of the house or outside of it. Others came up to thank the two for the party, though, the more people did, the more annoyed Token looked. To Stan, this meant this party was planned and done by the brunette without his permission.

Soon the house was empty, though now revealing a mess. Token sighed. “Clyde, you better clean this up.”

“No probs!” He looked over the edge and Stan looked along with him to see some others popping back in and heading up the stairs where they were. Standing around them were the members of ‘The Boys’ and ‘Those Guys.’

“Okay, we stayed. What did you want, Clyde?” Kyle asked.

Clyde looked at him with a large smile. “I want us to hang out!”

“Hang out?” Stan looked behind him to see Bebe reach the top of the steps. He gulped and tried avoiding making any type of eye contact with the girl who followed behind her. “Is that all you wanted?”

“I have to go home though,” Wendy told them. “I need to finish my report.”

“Yeah, me too,” Kyle chimed in.

“Oh, come on, guys,” Clyde whined. “We haven’t hung out in forever. Let’s, like, actually hang out, not just sit next to each other during lunch. Let’s do something fun!”

“No way, dude,” Craig immediately shut down the idea. 

Stan narrowed his eyes at him. “Like what, Clyde?”

Clyde looked at Stan as if he had just saved his life. “I was thinking ‘Truth or Dare!’”

“‘Truth or Dare?’” Kyle commented with a sneer. “We aren’t kids anymore, Clyde.”

“Yeah, Clyde,” Red commented, popping up from behind Craig. “We aren’t kids.” 

Clyde looked like a kicked puppy. “Oh… Okay…”

She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and pulled him close. “Hey, don’t be sad. ‘Truth or Dare’ is for middle schoolers. We need a better game.”

Clyde immediately perked up. “Like what?” 

She poked his nose. “You’ll see.” She turned to Token. “Token, you gotta room for this stuff?”

He shrugged. “We could go to the basement.”

She snapped her fingers and pointed at him with a finger gun. “Perfect. To the basement, we go.”

“I’m not staying,” Wendy spoke up, aggravation in her voice.

Red rolled her eyes. “Alright, fine. You can leave.” She elbowed Tweek’s side, making him yelp, and ‘whispered’ to him obnoxiously loud, clearly so Wendy could hear. “She was a stick in the mud, anyways. We don’t need her to have fun.”

Wendy’s face grew aflame. “No, I’m not!” She turned to the stairs and made her way down them, but instead of leaving out through the front door, she went through a different door under where they stood, presumably the basement. 

Red laughed. “Works every time.” She began to push everyone towards the stairs. “Now, you all go wait in the basement. Nichole, you come with me.”

Nichole nodded and stayed by her side as Red made the rest of the group go down the stairs and towards the basement.

“What are we even gonna be doing?” Kenny asked. 

“It doesn’t matter.” Red began to push Stan and Kenny, the last two, towards the basement stairs. “You all go downstairs and Nichole and I will meet you down there.” 

Stan shook his head, now amused. He decided to play along to see what she had come up with. He made it to the bottom of the stairs and looked around the basement. It was clean, so Token had probably crossed the area off from others when the party was going on. Stan and Kenny walked passed by Cartman, sitting on a recliner, and Wendy, sitting on the ground near the coffee table. They both made their way to sit on the couch where Kyle was. Stan sat himself besides Kyle while Kenny sat to his left.

Are you ready for this, bitches?” Red questioned as she suddenly appeared at the bottom of the stairs. She now wore a backpack that wasn’t with her before. Nichole popped up behind her with a small cooler in her hands.

Nichole began to pass around drinks from the cooler. Stan decided to settle on a bottle of another beer.

Red sat herself down at the coffee table and set the backpack down. She began to dig through it and pulled out a red solo cup and a handful of sticks. She placed the sticks inside of the cup and held it for everyone to see. “First and foremost, this is called ‘The King’s Game,’ and what the king says is absolute.” She poured the sticks out from the cup onto the table before looking around and pointed to everybody one at a time, including herself. “Okay, there are fourteen of us, so,” she began to number the sticks from one to thirteen, “there are thirteen sticks that are numbered, but one of them,” she held one up that had a drawing of a crown, “represents who is the king.” She placed the sticks back into the cup with the markings at the bottom. “All we have to do is to pick a stick without looking and that’s who you represent. Before we find out who the king is, we all have to say, ‘who is the king?’ You guys understand?”

The responses she got were more uncertain than anything.

She sighed and continued. “Say, the king is Kenny and his dare is someone to kiss somebody else. He can’t say anybody’s name specifically. He would have to say, ‘I dare three to kiss six,’ and the people who drew those numbers have to do what he says no matter what. You get it?”

“So, uh, it’s really just a game of dares, but you don’t know who is getting dared?” Butters asked.

“Exactly!” Red pulled a sheet of paper from her bag. “Okay, before we start, we need to set up some rules. How far are we going to go sexual-wise?”

“Not at all.”

“Wendy, that’s not an option.” She wrote down in bold letters: ‘ **_RULES_ **’. She began to write some things down. Probably some of the game’s natural rules. “So, kissing? Do we all agree on that?” 

Stan thought kissing was fine. He didn’t see any problem with it, but as he looked around the room the number of guys made him a bit anxious. He didn’t want to kiss any of them, especially Cartman. The thought alone made him nauseous, and not in a good way.

“No,” Craig spoke up. “We don't agree.”

“Oh, come on, Craig. Don't be a big baby.”

“Nobody is kissing me or Tweek.”

Red groaned. “It's not like we're going to know who is who.”

“I don't care.”

“Ngh, I don't mind,” Tweek said, meekly. Everybody looked at him with surprise. He noticed this and tried not to look at anyone. “It won't mean anything to me because,” he looked towards Craig, “I only love you.”

The girls all ‘awwww’ed’ at the scene.

Craig closed his eyes for a moment before sighing. “Fine, only because Tweek is fine with it.”

Red gave a small pump of her arm in triumph. “Cool, now what about certain groping?” Everyone gave a different reaction. She sighed before saying, “Are we gonna see some dick and puss or not?”

“I'd honestly rather not anybody touch or see my dick,” Stan admitted.

“I wouldn't.”

“We know you wouldn't, Kenny.”

“How about just boobs?” Red was trying to compromise.

“Guys don't have boobs, Red,” Kyle said.

“Yes, they do. They're just usually flat-chested.”

Kenny snickered and elbowed Stan's side. “Unlike Mr. Double D over there.” He jerked his thumb towards Cartman, which made Stan and Kyle laugh.

“Hey! The fuck you say, Kinny?”

Kenny waved him off. “Nothing, fatass.”

“I don't mind,” Bebe spoke up. “What about you, Wends?”

She shrugged. “I'd rather not show them, though.”

This made Stan clench his jaw. He tried to swallow his jealousy with a sip of his beer. He wasn’t with her anymore. Why should he care that everybody else had the possibility of touching her?

“Okay, okay,” Red turned to Nichole. “What about you, Nichole?”

She looked at Token. “If you're cool with it, I don't mind.”

Token shrugged. “It's your body, babe.”

Nichole gave a half shrug. “Then I guess my breasts are on the line too.”

“Okay! Is there anything else anybody would be uncomfortable with?” Red asked. Everybody was silent. “Remember, the king’s orders are absolute.” Nobody answered. “Alright, let’s get it started!” She picked up the red solo cup and began to shake up the sticks before picking out a stick.

That was how the game began. Everything started out slow, each one slowing growing with each passing dare:

Wendy asked for four (Butters) to give her a well-thorough massage.

Craig told three (Clyde) to call City Wok and order a pizza on speaker.

Nichole told one (Bebe) and eleven (Kyle) to switch clothing for the rest of the night, save for underwear. _This one made Stan laugh at his red-faced friend._

Butters made ten (Craig) eat a banana while dipping it in mayo.

When Bebe got a turn as the king, she insisted on turning it up a notch and dared eight (Token) to give seven (Cartman) a lap dance.

Craig made seven (Stan) go around the room and smell everyone’s armpits. _If Stan thought he hated Craig before, he absolutely despised him now._

Red made three (Bebe) color in a tooth of hers black so it would look like she was missing it.

Then Cartman had gotten his first turn as the king:

“Who is the-”

“I want eight to fondle one’s boobs for two minutes.” Cartman didn’t let the rest of the group finish the sentence before spitting out an order. 

“Gah! I have to _what_?” Everyone looked over at Tweek who had wide eyes.

“Did I stutter?”

Tweek glared at Cartman while he made a noise that sounded like a dying animal. 

A sigh came from Wendy as she loudly placed down her stick. “Come here, Tweek, let’s just get this over with.”

Tweek slowly slid himself off his seat and made his way to sit beside Wendy. He held his hands up, preparing himself as Wendy unzipped her coat. 

“Okay, ready?” Nichole asked with a timer ready in hand. The two nodded. “Alright, go.”

Tweek immediately cupped her breasts, now red in the face. 

Stan felt his body become hot with jealousy. He tried to force himself to look away from the two, but he couldn’t.

“Oh, your boobs are nice, Wendy,” Tweek commented. 

She smiled. “Thanks.”

“Careful, Tweek. They still might have some silicone in there,” Bebe joked, earning a smack in the arm from Wendy.

After an agonizingly long two minutes, their time was up. Stan knew that he would have nothing to worry about with Tweek, But he could help but glare at him as he made his way back to his seat besides Craig.

Everyone returned the sticks and continued the game.

Clyde kept on complaining about needing to use the bathroom, so Token took the liberty as king to have twelve (Kenny) and four (Bebe) watch him. 

Wendy told two (Cartman) to reveal his search history to everyone.

Nichole had seven (Craig) and thirteen (Kyle) make out for a minute.

Kenny told nine (Clyde) to drink a whole bottle of hot sauce and not drink anything for the rest of the night.

Then Tweek got a turn as the king:

“Gah! I’m the king? No way, man, this is too much pressure!” Tweek tried shoving the stick into Craig’s hand. “You do it, Craig.”

“Honey, that’s not how the game works.” He placed his hand on his thigh. “Just think of something stupid or make someone do something you want to do, like have them make a coffee for you,” Craig suggested to him.

Tweek was gnawing at his bottom lip. “Uh, well, three and five!”

“Yes? Three and five, what?” 

“Ungh… three has to,” he began to tug at his hair and Craig moved to rub his back gently. “Three has to lick peanut butter off of five’s stomach.”

Kenny clasped his hands together and laughed. “Oh my God, Tweek.”

“W-what?” He screeched, his shaking now more obvious.

“Didn’t know you had it in you.”

“Ah, geez,” Butters stood up, “I know it’s the rules and I gotta do it.” 

“Ah, Butters!” Red began taking everything off the coffee table to make space. She patted on the middle of the table. “Lay right here. We gotta get the perfect view.”

“Oh, hamburgers… Do I have to?” He asked as he began to rub his fists together.

“Would you rather stand while…” Bebe began to look around. “Hey, who is doing it?”

Stan stayed quiet. Maybe if he didn’t move or say anything, Kenny would offer to take the spot. Or maybe even Cartman. He always had a weird thing for Butters and Kyle. 

“Stan, you can’t just pretend you don’t have the stick.” Of course, fucking Kyle couldn't leave him be.

Stan groaned before setting down his drink and standing up. “Fine, let’s just get this over with.”

Token stood up along with him. “I'll go get some peanut butter.” He told the group as he disappeared up the stairs.

Bebe and Red were giggling loudly at Butters slowly lying himself on the table - his head towards Cartman and his legs towards Tweek and Craig

Stan moved to sit next to Red who was sitting by Butters right, but she stopped him. “No way, Stan. You gotta get him at a better angle.” Stan knew that Red was just trying to sexualize the dare. He just rolled his eyes and moved to be in front of Butters’ legs to satiate her.

Token came back to the basement with the jar of peanut butter and a large spoon. “Here you go.” He held them out to Stan, but Kenny swooped in and grabbed them instead.

“Dude, come on.” 

“No way, man. Knowing Stan, he'll probably just put a little bit to get it over with. We gotta make sure it's worth it.” Kenny began to unscrew the cap and dipped the spoon in to get some of its contents on the back of the spoon. He kneeled beside Red and held the spoon over Butters’ stomach. “You ready, Butters?”

He shrugged. “Ready as I'll ever be, I guess.”

Kenny lowered the spoon and began to coat Butters’ stomach with peanut butter. It was a lot more than Stan would've liked, but that was the point. Kenny stopped and Stan watched with narrowed eyes as he dunked the spoon back in to cover his stomach even more.

Kenny was way too giddy for Stan’s taste about this entire situation. He could tell by his eyes that he was smiling big underneath his parka. “Kenny, you’re acting like you’re the one doing this,” Stan told him.

His eyes flickered up to meet Stan’s. “I wish.” S _tan didn’t know whether he wished to be Butters or him, but he didn’t want to know._ He started to smear even more on Butters’ stomach and Stan was sure he was doing this to get under his skin. “But since you’re the one doing it,” He finished up, sticking the spoon in his mouth as he closed the jar. He clapped his shoulder as he stood up. “Why don’t you show us your skills?” 

“Of licking peanut butter? _Right_.” 

“Well, don’t just lick it up,” Craig said in his usual monotone tone. Stan didn’t need to turn around to see the stupid smirk on his face. 

“Good thing you aren’t the king then.”

“Ah, well, don’t just lick it up, Stan.” Stan really wanted to murder Craig for putting the idea into his boyfriend’s head. “A-and you have to clean it all. Nothing left behind.” Oh, how Stan hated them both.

He clenched his jaw as he grabbed Butters from behind his knees to pull him closer to the edge so he wouldn't have to hover over him too much. He grimaced, seeing how he was in between the blonde’s legs now.

A chorus of wolf whistles filled the room after he did this.

He sighed before leaning down over the blonde and licking at his stomach, trying to lick as much peanut butter off as he could to end this as quickly as he could.

“Oh,” Butters giggled. “That tickles!” He began to squirm as he continued to laugh.

Stan rolled his eyes. He placed his hands on his hips, holding him firmly down so he could stop moving. This made the laughing and movement stop. He tried not to think too much about what he was doing - on who he was doing it to.

He hated everything about this. He hated everyone cheering him on. He hated looking up for a moment and seeing Butters face, how red he was. He hated seeing Wendy giggle with Bebe as he continued with his work.

“Oh~! _Stan_ ,” Red nudged him when he finished, “you’re still single, right?”

Bebe laughed at this. “Oh my God, Red.”

Stan just ignored her and rolled his eyes. “In Token’s words: ‘I swear to God, if any of you let anybody know out of this room, I will kill you,’” He told the group as he stood up. He picked up his beer and threw himself back onto the couch.

And the game continued once again.

Jimmy told twelve (Red) to call a random number and sing "Happy Birthday" to the first person to pick up.

Stan even had nine (Tweek) strip down to their underwear and sit in four’s (Kenny) lap until whoever had twelve (Nichole) was king. _Stan felt proud of himself for that one. He considered it as revenge for earlier._

The game kept on going and going until the teens finally got tired of it. 

“Can we just go home now?” Kyle motioned to himself. “I’m tired of wearing these clothes.”

“Aw~, but you look so cute in them, Kyle,” Bebe teased.

“Oh, come on!” Clyde moaned. “Just one more round. I haven’t even been the king yet.” His face was still glowing red from the hot sauce.

“Fine, fine,” Bebe spoke up. “Let’s all do one more round, then we can go.”

“Yeah, whoever’s king better give us something really juicy,” Red agreed as she grabbed the cup from the table. She shook the cup around to mix up the sticks before picking one for herself again. She then passed the cup to Nichole and so on.

Stan watched the cup get passed around the group before it finally reached him. He stared down at the cup in Kenny’s hand. Chugged down the rest of his beer, he blindly grabbed a stick for himself. He stared it down as if the stick itself had wronged him. The number ‘4’ stared back at him. He glanced over at Kyle, but he only hid the stick.

“Okay,” Red started. “Three, two, one…”

Everybody in unison, “Who is the-”

“Me, me! I am!” Cartman shouted. “I’m the king! I’m the final _king_ , ha ha ha ha haa ha!” He let out a loud laugh that immediately irked Stan. He knew this was a bad idea. Cartman reached over and grabbed his bag from behind Butters, hitting him in the back of the head in the process. He began to rummage through the bag, mumbling to himself.

“Fuck,” Kyle muttered. “Let’s just get this over with, fatass.”

Stan let his eyes wander back to Wendy as the two began their usually bicker. She met his gaze for a moment and Stan smiled, but it quickly faltered when she looked away from him. His throat felt dry. He lifted up his bottle for another sip and felt stupid when he realized it was empty. He looked back at Cartman to see him slam down a notebook. 

“I have been planning for this day. To have the authorit-ah to have you guys do what I want with you guys. And _none_ of you can reverse it.” Cartman was watching everybody carefully. “There will be six of you. I am going to pair you up and each pair must,” he glanced at Kyle. “ _must_ date the person for a month.”

Kyle scoffed and Stan made it necessary to elbow him in the side to prevent him from making it worse. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all. He tried not to look at Wendy. He couldn’t look _too_ hopeful. 

“And I mean _date_ ,” Cartman continued. “Holding hands, kissing,” He leaned forward wiggling his eyebrows. “ _Sex_!” 

“I-if I didn’t know better, I w-would- I would have th-thought you turned into K-K-Kenny,” Jimmy jokes. Kenny was the only one who laughed. “Wow, what a great audience.”

Everyone was tense. Of course, Eric Cartman would try to do anything to get under their skins. _Especially_ Kyle’s. He hadn’t even said any numbers yet and Stan could practically feel him fuming from his right.

“So!” He clasped his hands. “Who should it be? Hmm, yes, I see…” He looked at them all again. “I want four and seven, six and,” he made a face. “Thirteen, and for the sake of luck for our two love birds,” He gave a pointed look towards Craig and Tweek. “Eleven and twelve.” 

The room was silent aside from Tweek’s sudden yelp, making it obvious that his number was picked. Stan stared back down at his number. ‘ _4_ ’ He was chosen by Cartman. He hoped that the universe was somehow on his side and made Wendy as ‘7.’ That way, she could see how they should actually get back together. It could be his chance.

“This is fucking ridiculous!” Kyle spoke up and Stan knew things were going to go downhill. “I am _not_ doing that! I have way better things to do than this stupid dare,” he exclaimed.

“Oh, but he’s the king,” Butters spoke up. “And whatever the king says is a-absolute.”

“Thank you, Butters.”

“Oh, fuck that! I don’t give a shit if he’s the king!” Kyle’s face was now aflame with anger. He really didn’t want to do this. Stan didn’t understand why. It was just a month. All he had to do was shut his mouth and entertain Cartman, but then again, nothing was easy with Kyle.

“Well, since Kyle clearly has a problem with it,” He reached forward to grab the notebook he had pulled out as he continued. “Make it two months.”

“This is stupid-”

“And as Butters said, I am the _king_ , therefore, anything I say goes.” He began to flip through the notebook. “Ah, yes, here we are.” He flipped the notebook over to show the group its contents. A picture of Kyle was evident on one side of the page and writing was on the other side.

“W-what is it?” Tweek asked.

“Don’t egg him on, babe.”

“Thank you for asking, Tweek!” Cartman cleared his throat and began to read:

_In any instance of a game of dares, if Kyle “Stupid Jew” Broflovski chooses to refuse the dare the following will be punishment for him:_

  * _Revealing a secret_


  * _Send his brother back to Canada_


  * _Ruin any chances he has of getting a girlfriend or getting into whatever college he wants to go to for 4 months_


  * _And-_



“I really don’t give a shit, Cartman. It’s not like you’re going to do all that anyway. You’re bluffing.”

“I’d rather not do this either,” Craig spoke up. “And your ‘ _luck_ ’ didn’t even pair me with Tweek. I’m not going to date anybody else.” 

Cartman rolled his eyes. “Of course, you two are against it. Only thinking of yourselves.” The two boys began to protest, but he only ignored them. “If _Kahl_ let me finish, you would all know that both people will be receiving punishment. It doesn’t matter if one of them still wants to go with the dare. Both must work together.” He intertwined his fingers, making Stan roll his eyes.

Stan heard Nichole suck air through her teeth. “Yikes.”

“So,” Cartman wore a wicked smirk on his face. “Who is going to do my bidding?”

Stan sighed. _Might as well get it over with and know who he was going to ‘date’ for two months_. “I got four.” 

Everybody was silent. They all looked at one another, expecting someone to speak up to partner up with him. It took another beat of silence before someone finally did.

“Ah, geez. I got seven.” Stan felt his body run cold with dread and he wished he had never come at all. It wasn’t Wendy who spoke up. “I guess we’ll be stuck together for a while. Huh, Stan?”

It was Butters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know. I feel like this chapter is a bit rushed, but I didn't want to write a chapter where they get invited and are interacting completely. I wanted to just dive in, no bullshit. I hope you guys enjoyed!


	2. Chapter 2

The drive back home was a silent one. Stan allowed Kyle to drive them back to their homes, considering that Kyle had two light drinks compared to whatever amount Stan had drunk. His head was already throbbing, more so over the nightly events rather than the alcohol.

“So… you’re stuck with Butters.” Kyle was trying to make conversation with him.

Stan tried to hide deeper in his jacket. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Well, I do. I’m stuck with Craig. _Craig_!” He huffed. “I’d rather have Butters.”

“Craig?” 

“Yes!” he exclaimed. “Were you not listening?”

“I don’t know, man. I think I blanked out after I found out who I got.”

“So you didn’t hear Cartman’s stupid rules?”

“Nah.”

“Well, basically, we can’t tell anyone about the dare. So, to others, you’re actually dating Butters.”

Stan groaned. “This dare is stupid.”

“Seriously, dude.” Kyle sighed and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel for a moment. “He also told us that we’re gonna have ‘update meetings,’ whatever the fuck that means.”

Stan shook his head in disbelief. “I think Cartman is going to have too much fun with this.”

“Tell me about it.” Kyle pulled up into the driveway of Stan’s house. He turned off the ignition and handed the car keys to Stan. “Here you go, dude.” He began to grab his things to leave the car.

“Are you gonna stay over?” He asked him as he got out from his side.

“Can’t. I promised my mom that I’d be home earlier. I’d rather just have her kill me now than after school.”

Stan chuckled. “True. Good luck, dude.” He walked over to Kyle and hugged him.

“Thanks, dude.”

They patted each other’s backs before parting. Stan fished his keys out of his coat pocket as he watched the other walk towards the direction of his own house. He waved at him when he had turned to look back for a moment. 

As soon as he saw Kyle walk into his own home, Stan began to unlock the door to his childhood home. He slowly opened the door and shuffled his way inside. He locked the door and made his way towards the stairs in the darkness. 

He froze when he heard light tapping coming from the kitchen before it went silent. He continued to make his way to the stairs and almost jumped out of his skin when he felt something press against his leg. The panting and sudden wetness lapping at his hand relaxed him. He gently traced his fingers against the top of Sparky’s head. “Hey, boy,” he kept his voice low, “you wanna come with me?” He moved towards the stairs again and Sparky began to whine. Knowing what this meant, Stan lowered himself and carefully picked him up. Sparky pawed at him for a moment before relaxing in his arms. Stan pressed his lips to the top of his head before finally making his way up the stairs. 

Once he reached the top, he slowly brought Sparky to the ground. He watched his dark form make way to his bedroom door and slowly scratch at it with his paw. He huffed out a laugh as he opened the door for them. Sparky quickly made himself comfortable on his own bed that he had dragged over to be next to Stan’s bed. When Stan entered his room, he peeled off his beanie and shed off his coat before immediately collapsing on his bed. Changing his clothes was the last thing on his mind. He toed off his shoes and curled himself up to keep warm. He pulled his blanket up to cover himself and closed his eyes. 

* * *

Stan awoke with a small headache from last night’s episode. He didn’t drink as much as he usually did, but his body was still upset at the sudden alcohol intake. He tried to swallow, but his mouth felt completely dry. He felt gross. He pushed himself off his bed, almost tipping over in the process, and sauntered over to his closet. He heard Sparky yawn as he reached in his closet, not exactly feeling perturbed about his clothing choices for the day.

He left his room, leaving the door open for Sparky, and made his way to the bathroom for a shower. He turned on the water of the shower and began brushing his teeth as he waited for the water to heat up. He made eye contact with himself, leaning forward to look closer at the blue of his eyes. He took a moment longer to just stare before finishing his actions. 

He pulled off his clothes and stepped into the shower, sighing in relief at the warm water. He began lathering his body up with his body soap, spending his time cleaning up. After a moment, he moved to stand directly under the water. He closed his eyes as he focused on the water hitting his head.

_His senior year was absolute shit. Wendy had broken up with him again, but now she was completely avoiding him. He didn’t even know what he did wrong. Then the football coach decided Stan wasn’t worth his quarterback position anymore and gave it to Clyde instead. Now he was placed as a Halfback on a good day, a Linebacker if the coach didn’t want him on the offense. He didn’t hold it against Clyde, but it didn’t stop him from getting pissed off at the thought. And, ugh, the dare… Now he was going to be known for dating Butters during his last few months. It was the last thing he wanted to think of._

He huffed and forcefully turned off the water before stepping out. He patted himself dry before going to his hair, rubbing out the excess water with the towel. He usually blow-dried his hair, but he decided to skip that process for the day. After pulling on his clothes, which was a band t-shirt for ‘Hell’s Vengeance’ and a pair of dark wash jeans, and dumping his old clothes in the laundry bin, he left the bathroom.

Before going down the stairs, he peeked into his room to see if Sparky was still there. He wasn’t there, but Stan decided to pull on his shoes and grab his jacket and bag first so he wouldn’t have to come back. As he exited his room, he pulled his signature beanie over his head. He made his way down the steps and saw that Sparky was patiently waiting for him at the bottom. _His mom was awake._

He dropped his things onto the couch before giving his dog a gentle pat and walking into the kitchen.

His mom peered up at him before looking back down at whatever she was working on. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” he mumbled back. He began to look through the cupboards to see what he could have for a quick breakfast.

“How was the party?”

Stan had to force himself not to groan too loudly at the question. “It was fine. I went with Kyle.”

There was a beat of silence. “Did you drink responsibly?”

Stan paused himself before telling her, “I would say so.” He began to push some boxes aside in his search. “Kyle drove us home though.” 

“That’s good.” 

Neither of them continued after that. 

She knew of Stan’s drinking and allowed him to at times as long as she knew when it happened. He remembered his mom telling him how hiding it would probably worsen his want of alcohol, so she’d rather him drink with her knowledge of it. She also said something about it keeping their relationship good. Stan couldn’t really remember. 

Stan finally decided to settle on one of the chocolate cereals his mom had bought over the weekend. He poured himself a bowl and sat across his mom, who was writing something down. Stan didn’t bother to know what it was. 

He felt Sparky place his head against his knee, something he usually did when the two sat down for a meal. The silence between them was satisfying, but it was only short-lived. Their doorbell rang, making Stan visibly cringe as it gave him a painful surge in his head. 

His mom sighed, obviously annoyed at the early coming of whoever was at the door. “I’ll get it.” She pushed herself up from her seat and left Stan alone in the kitchen. 

Stan grumbled to himself, sharing his mom’s annoyance. He stayed in his seat, staring at the wall, absent-mindedly shoving cereal into his mouth and trailing his fingers against Sparky’s head.

“Stanley,” He looked up just in time to see his mom walk in. “A friend of yours is at the door.”

Stan’s eyebrow perked up. “Kyle? Just tell him to come in.”

“No, it isn’t Kyle.” 

_It wasn’t Kyle?_ “Then who is it?”

She shrugged. “I believe it’s the Stoch’s kid.” At those words, Stan moved to pinch the bridge of his nose, letting a small ‘Jesus fuck’ slip past his lips. “You _are_ friends with him, right? I thought he hung out with you and your little group?”

He let go of his nose and sighed. “Yeah, yeah, he does.” He shoved another spoonful into his mouth. “He can wait,” he mumbled. 

She gave him a pointed look. “Stan-”

“I’m almost done.”

She sighed. “Okay, but any longer than five minutes, I’m letting him inside. I’m not going to let that boy freeze,” she told him before walking out again. Stan could hear her telling Butters that he would be out in a few minutes.

Stan whispered out another curse. _Why was Butters at his house? He was the last person Stan had wanted to see so early._ He quickly swallowed the last bit of cereal and washed it down with the flavored milk. After gently nudging Sparky off of his knee, he stood up and placed the bowl in the sink.

He sighed and made his way to the front door, grabbing his jacket and shrugging it on. As he rubbed his face to ready himself for whatever was to come, he pulled open the door and looked down at the visitor. “Butters,” he feigned surprise. “You’re here.”

“Heya, Stan!” The blonde gave him a big smile. “I hope I’m not bothering you. I figured we could go to school together.”

“Why?”

His smile faltered a bit. “Well, uh, I thought we could get a bit of an early start on everything? Eric told us that we would have to start doing it. Didn't he send you the text?”

Stan huffed. “I don't know. I didn’t check.”

“Gee, Stan, Eric’s not gonna be happy if you don’t-”

“Alright, alright.” He dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out his car keys, shoving them into the smaller’s hand. “Here, just turn on my car and wait inside. I’ll be there in a sec.” Before he let him respond, Stan shut the door.

Stan gave another harsh sigh. _Butters was taking this seriously._ He turned and grabbed his bag from the couch. “I’m heading to school, mom,” he called out. 

“Okay, have a good day,” she called back.

He bent over and pressed a kiss to Sparky’s head. “You be good.” He patted his head before heading out of his house, glaring as he saw Butters in the passenger side of his car. He trudged over to his side and pulled the door open. He threw his bag towards the back seats before settling himself inside. 

He began to pat on his jacket and felt the familiar hardness of his phone. He pulled it out from his pocket and clicked it on, seeing the many notifications pop up in recession. A message from Cartman was the last notification and Stan rolled his eyes. Not bothering to read it, he plugged in his phone to charge as he drove. He clicked on his seatbelt and began to drive him and Butters to their school.

For the first few minutes, it was silent in the car aside from the low hum of the car’s engine.

Stan huffed loudly when he heard Butters begin to hum to something upbeat. He leaned forward to turn on his radio, making the music of one of his favorite bands play loudly. He saw Butters jump in his seat at the sudden loudness. He continued to drive, glad he could pretend he was alone, even if it was for a moment. 

Once he had reached the school, he pulled into the parking lot and began to look for a good spot to park. He found a spot closer to the football field and parked his car. Stan turned off the car and reached towards the back for his bag and unplugged his phone, shoving it into his pocket.

He pushed the door open and got himself out, adjusted his bag onto his shoulders. He made sure to lock the doors once Butters shut the door on his side. Stan began to walk away, trying to get away from him as soon as possible.

“Oh, Stan, wait up!” Butters popped back into his view and stopped in front of him, blocking his way. He held out his hand towards him.

Stan furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “What? What do you want?”

He laughed, but Stan didn’t understand why. “Your hand,” he finally said. “Let’s hold hands.”

“‘Let’s hold hands,’” Stan repeated exasperatedly. Even with his negative tone, Butters didn’t move, but only looked at Stan expectedly. He huffed in irritation. “Fine.” He begrudgingly placed his hand in Butters’ outstretched one. He had to hide his surprise when warmth immediately spread through his body. Stan didn’t have his gloves with him that day, neither did Butters, but his hand was warm. Stan knew he was freezing, but Butters’ didn’t say anything about it.

They began to walk through the front doors of the school hand in hand. As they made their way through the halls, Stan could feel the heat of everyone’s stares boring through him. It made him nervous, and when he’s nervous, he’s nauseous. Stan was taking long strides to get to their lockers quicker, maybe even shake off Butters. Though, that didn’t work. It only made his grip tighter and his smile wider. No matter how strange the situation was to both Stan and all the outsiders, Butters continued to wear a smile. Stan couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy over this. 

Once their assigned lockers came into view, Stan practically ran over to them so he could finally let go of the other’s hand. He entered his combination for the lock he placed on it and pulled it open. As he went through his head of his schedule for the day, he placed all the books he knew he needed. 

“Hey, dude.”

He gave a side-glance to the new voice towards his right. “Hey, Kenny.”

“You get Cartman’s text?”

He sighed, slamming his locker closed. “I don’t know, man. Butter’s,” he motioned towards the said boy who was unfortunate to have one of the lower leveled lockers, “came to my house for a ride before I could check.” He glanced at the lighter blonde who was more focused on finding a specific book than their conversation. He looked back at Kenny. “Dude, he had me hold his hand.”

He chuckled. “Aw, cute!”

Stan clenched his fist. “No! No, it’s not. It’s fucking sick.”

Kenny furrowed his eyebrows. “Is there something wrong with being with a guy.”

“Dude, no. That’s not what I’m saying.”

“Then what’s the problem? He isn’t ‘ _Wendy_ ’ enough for you?”

Stan huffed, noticing that the conversation was going nowhere with him. “Nevermind. I’ll see you in class.” He turned around to try to speed out of the hall before Butters could notice but was immediately blocked by the same person he wanted to avoid. 

He smiled up at him. “Did you want me to walk you to class?”

“No, I’m fine. I can get there myself.”

“Oh, that’s fine. You have a good day, Stan.” Butters leaned forward to plant a kiss on Stan’s cheek, but Stan quickly took a step back. Butters froze and his eyebrows creased with worry. “Stan-?”

“No way, dude. I could barely stand holding your hand, we are _not_ kissing.”

“Oh…” He averted his gaze from Stan as he felt his face become warm. “Sorry. It’s just, uh, Eric-”

“I don’t care what Cartman wants us to do.” 

Butters nodded and looked down at his own hands that were now rubbing together out of habit. “Alrighty, then.” He moved to walk around Stan. “I’ll see you after school, Stan.” 

Stan took a moment to himself to calm himself down. _Butters was taking this too seriously._

There was a loud slam of someone closing their locker behind him. “Dude, that was fucked up.” He turned around to look at Kenny just in time to be pushed against the lockers and be face to face with him. “What if someone had said that to you?”

“Dude, back up.”

“What if I was Wendy?”

This made Stan’s eyebrows furrow. “Stop bringing her into this.”

“‘You make me _sick_. Just looking at you makes me need to vomit.’” He laughed, but it was bitter. “Knowing you, you’d probably just keep that in the back of your mind as you masturbate.”

“I’m not dealing with this right now.” Stan tried to move around Kenny, but he blocked him with his arms.

“No wonder why she broke up with you,” he spoke to him in a low voice. “I wouldn’t want a depressed alcoholic either. You’re becoming worse than your dad.”

Stan gritted his teeth and gripped the front of Kenny’s parka, pulling him even closer to his face. “Listen here, you fucking asshole-”

“Whoa, whoa!” Kenny was suddenly pulled away from him and now they both had Red in between them. “What’s going on?”

“Stan is being a fucking dick to Butters.”

Stan narrowed his eyes at him. “Fuck off, Kenny. You don’t know how hard I’m taking this.”

“ _You_?” Kenny moved to take a step forward, but Red pressed both her hands against his chest to stop him. 

“Okay, how about we both calm down. Yeah?” She looked at Stan. “ _Yeah_?”

Stan glared at Kenny, only to receive an identical look. “Fine.” Stan adjusted the straps on his shoulders before leaving towards his first class of the day. 

Stan threw himself down in his seat where he usually sat in his group. He placed his bag on his desk and sat back with his arms crossed and his leg beginning to bounce. 

The girl in his group looked up from her phone for a moment, flashing a small smile at him. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Yo, Stan” Besides the girl sat down Clyde, who was also assigned to his group, with a large smile. Stan nodded at him and after a moment, Clyde gave him a quizzical look. “What’s wrong, dude.”

His leg began to bounce harder and he shook his head. He began to bite at the nail of his thumb and looked away from the door of the classroom. “Don’t wanna talk about it,” he mumbled. As much as he was wanting to avoid Kenny for the rest of the day, he knew it was inevitable considering how they shared the same class at the moment. He heard the familiar creak of someone sitting down beside him and Stan began to shake his head, refusing to look at him.

“Okay, class,” Their teacher drawled, “today you’re going to be given a worksheet to fill out about your assigned book. This worksheet is meant to help you complete the essay you will be focusing on our next class. The sheet is here on my desk and feel free to ask me any questions. I don’t mind talking amongst each other, just please get your work done.”

“I’ll get them, ” the girl sitting from across Stan stood up and walked over to the front.

As soon as she was far from earshot, Clyde began looking between the two of them. “Okay, what’s wrong?”

“Do you want to know what Stan told Butters earlier?”

“Oh, shut the fuck up, Kenny,” Stan snapped at him.

“Butters was just trying to just get the dare over with and Stan basically called him revolting.”

“He _wanted_ to hold hands and _kiss_ me,” he hissed at him.

“So you let him.”

“ _Let him_?”

The girl came back and both of their mouths snapped shut. She handed each of them a sheet of paper before sitting herself down.

Stan thanked her and began to dig through his bag for the book he was given to read for the class. He figured the conversation between him and Kenny would be over, but he was wrong.

“You know what, Stan, you’re being a little bitch,” Kenny suddenly said.

The girl looked up for a second, eyes wide with shock when she heard this. 

“How am I being a ‘little bitch?’” Stan felt his head begin to pound with the sudden anger he felt.

“What is… what’s happening?” She asked. 

“Relationship issues,” Clyde answered. Stan glared at him for the response. “Stan is upset and he’s taking it out on his boyfriend.”

“Oh…” The girl then perked up. “Oh! Stan, you have a boyfriend? That’s so cute!”

Stan groaned and covered his face. “Yes, I do.”

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No,” Clyde answered.

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

“Fine, we won’t.” Kenny leaned close to him to whisper, “But just like you’re stuck with Butters, he’s stuck with an asshole like you. Do you ever think of anybody else besides yourself?”

Stan opened his mouth to say something but decided against it when he noticed that Clyde and the girl were intensely staring at them.

"Yeah, didn't think so."

Stan kicked his leg from underneath the desks which earned a glare from Kenny, but he stayed silent. The two ignored each other for the rest of their class.

* * *

His other two classes of the day, AP Music Theory and Athletics, went by smoothly with no problems. At least from Butters and Kenny. Stan was starting to get the hits of the new ‘rumor’ about him dating Butters from some of his classmates, but he couldn’t entirely deny it because of whatever Cartman had up his sleeve.

After his coach had dismissed him and he had taken a shower in the locker room, Stan headed towards the cafeteria for lunch. He went straight for the line instead of dropping his things off at his table since his shower took a little longer than usual.

Not really caring about what he ate for the day, he grabbed randomly at whatever came into view first and paid for his lunch. He grabbed his tray and headed towards his table with his usual gang. He caught the view of the familiar orange parka leaving the table and going to a different one entirely. A wave of relief washed over him, but he immediately turned tense when he saw Kyle leaving the table to follow Kenny, only leaving Cartman. Stan watched with narrowed eyes as Kenny and Kyle were now seated with Tweek and Craig. He didn’t want to be left with Cartman, but all the other tables were either filled up or had someone he’d rather not interact with.

Cartman wore a large smile as Stan sat himself down across from him. “So, Stan-”

“Don’t.”

“I heard you and Butters were holding hands!”

Stan groaned and began to stab at the school lunch. “I fucking hate you.”

“Are you and your _boyfriend_ getting comfortable?”

Stan glared at him but chose not to respond.

“Stan~” He shook his head and ignored him. “ _Stan_ , talk to me!” He began to stab at the salad on his plate. “Fine, be that way, asshole.” He looked around from his spot. He perked up and cupped his hands around his mouth before shouting, “Butters! Come here, your boyfriend wants to talk to you!” 

Stan’s eyes widened and he kicked at his legs. “Dude, no!” He hissed out. 

He saw the blonde pop up from his seat and walk over to them. Stan groaned and began to lean onto his hand with his forehead. “Heya, Eric! Hi, Stan!” He sat next to him and Stan immediately felt tense.

“Well, _hi_ there, Butters. I had a feeling that _Stannie_ here was missing you.” Stan glared at him. Neither of them moved even though Cartman was looking at them expectedly. “Well, what are you two? Pussies? Greet each other like two _boyfriends_ would.” Cartman was staring at the two with a large smirk.

Stan was glaring hard at his food. _He wanted to kill Cartman._ He felt his leg begin to anxiously bounce as he turned slightly to see Butters looking at him.

His lips were pressed into a thin line. He looked at Cartman, now frowning. “Eric, Stan doesn't look-”

“ _Butters_ , are you going against the _king’s_ words?”

Butters stood up, both hands placed on the table. “Eric, Stan and I aren't going to kiss for your sick fantasy,” he said loudly, earning the attention of the nearby students once again. “If you want to see two guys kiss so badly, why don’t you look at the gay porn you always watch?” This earned a few snickers from some of the students. Cartman’s face began to glow bright red as he began to sputter. Butters signature smile returned and he leaned towards Stan, placing his hand on his back. 

In the moment of having so much nervous energy, Stan shrugged Butters’ hand away from him. “Don’t touch me,” he hissed at him. 

Butters’ face dropped. “Gee, I’m sorry, Stan.”

“Just don’t touch me.”

He forced out a laugh. “Okay… okay, I’ll just leave you alone, then.” Butters turned and walked back to the table he was sitting at earlier.

He felt a harsh pain on his shin. “Hey, asshole, you have to convince everybody that you two are fucking.”

“We aren’t!” He was seething now.

“Stan, I swear to christ. Right now, you two look like you have _so_ much sexual tension that nobody would care if you slammed him down and-”

“Cartman!” Stan felt his face flush as he saw everyone staring at the two, now whispering amongst themselves. “ _God_ , I fucking hate you so much,” Stan told him as he gripped his tray tightly, moving to leave Cartman alone before he popped a blood vessel.

He walked past the table where Craig’s group usually sat and slammed his tray down in front of Kenny before making a beeline for the doors. He left the school building, quickly heading towards his parked car. _He needed to leave._

He jumped into his car and immediately turned it on, throwing his belongings towards the backseat. He turned off the screaming of the song that immediately began to play and slammed his forehead against the steering wheel. He knew he needed to calm down before driving. The last thing he wanted to do is ram into something just because he was having the worst day of his life. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on his breathing.

His thoughts slowly began to drift to the points of his day _. How he was practically the center of attention every time he walked through the halls. How everyone was staring at him, whispering and_ ** _judging_** _him over a matter of seconds. How angry Kenny had gotten; what he had_ ** _said_** _._ _And how hurt Butters looked. He didn’t know why he was so angry at him, he was one of his friends so he should be happy he wasn’t paired with Craig like Kyle was. It wasn’t even his fault that he had to be paired with Stan. Shit, if he was in Butters’ position, he would’ve snapped already. He wouldn’t want to be with someone so pessimistic, so depressing, who’s a growing alcoholic, someone so angry all the time._

_Nobody would._

He jumped at the sudden knock at his window. He looked up and groaned at the last person he wanted to see at the moment. He rolled down the window, glaring at him. “What?”

Butters’ eyebrows were screwed together in worry. “Are you okay, Stan?”

“Do I fucking look okay?”

Hurt flashed across his face. “S-sorry, I just wanted to check on you.”

Stan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He took in a deep breath before releasing it. He let go of his nose and looked back at the blonde. “Do you have a class right now?”

He shook his head. “No, AP Psychology was my last class.”

Stan hesitated before motioning towards the passenger seat. “Get in.”

Butters' expression brightened as he took no second thought on accepting the offer. He quickly settled himself in the passenger seat and Stan began to drive out of the parking lot to head back to their houses.

Stan was focused on the road. He was trying not to look at the blonde in his passenger seat in an attempt to keep his negative thoughts away; about himself and about the blonde. They were both silent as Stan drove. Stan didn’t exactly want to make small conversation and he was sure Butters didn’t either.

Though the ride felt agonizingly long, he soon slowed down in front of a brown house; 1020. He parked the car and waited. He didn’t dare look at Butters even then. His thoughts were swarming, screaming at him to say something to him, anything.

Butters, on the other hand, took a peek at the ravenette. There was no emotion on his face, but he could tell that he was upset about something by the way his hands were clutching the steering wheel tightly. He leaned forward and grabbed his bag. “Thank you, Stan.”

“Yeah.”

Butters frowned at him. He opened the passenger door but froze when Stan spoke again.

“I’m sorry.”

He slowly pulled the door back so it wouldn’t be letting as much cold air inside the car. “Huh?”

“I’ve been angry at this whole situation and I’ve been taking it out on you.” Stan turned to Butters and for the first time all day, he truly looked at him. “I’m sorry.”

Butters smiled. “Well, it’s alright, Stan. I know this is all different for you and you aren’t exactly happy bein’ paired with me and all. I understand.” He moved to hop out of the car. He leaned down to look at Stan through his side. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Stan still wore a frown. “Yeah, see you tomorrow.” 

Butters closed the passenger door. Stan watched him walk up to his front door. He had fumbled with his keys for a moment before finally unlocking the door. He entered and moved to close the door, but not before flashing Stan another smile and waving at him.

Once he saw the door close, he let his forehead hit the steering wheel once more. _He felt like shit. He really was a selfish dick and he knew he needed to make it up to Butters._


	3. Chapter 3

_as soon as you both can get together make_

_sure you convince EVERYBODY that you_

_and butters are buttbuddies_

_holding hands kissing hugging_

Then the next two texts were sent a few minutes after that.

_shit even fuck around in the bathroom_ _and_

_have someone walk in_

_if you dick off this dare stan ill make_ _you_

_tegrrt it_

_*regret_

Stan kept on rereading the text messages Cartman had sent him yesterday with a frown. They were specifically directed to him, so he was sure Butters had received something different to make him immediately jump in and come to his house.

He wanted to be more open-minded about the situation like maybe he and Butters can have a better relationship in the end. But thinking about how Cartman wanted them to go above and beyond with holding hands and kissing each other made his stomach churn. It’s not like he didn’t want to do this because Butters was ugly. He wasn’t. He grew up to be a good-looking guy, even Stan could admit that. Though, he’d never say that aloud. All he knew now was that he couldn’t explain why he felt so nerved by this situation.

Maybe it was because he wasn’t as close to Butters as he was to his other friends. He didn’t know much about his family life either, just that his parents were dicks. Stan remembered how he had gone through a mini rebellious phase against his parents at the beginning of high school; dying his hair black, staying out late, even joining his gang to do the crazy shit they always found themselves in. He remembered how he and Kenny supported him that week. After that, Stan didn’t know what happened, Butters came back looking as he did before as if nothing happened. Stan never said anything about it, but deep inside, even now, it bothered him. 

He always kept his appearance tidy yet casual now, dressing as if he was going to church every day. It was usually a sweater with a white-button up underneath. Stan would always wonder how Butters wasn’t freezing his ass off half the time. Maybe he could give him a new sweater or a jacket as an apology. Though, he wasn’t sure if that was going to fix anything.

“Stan? Stanley, did you hear what I said?”

He looked up at his mom, who was now staring at him from her spot in front of the refrigerator. He didn’t realize that she was talking to him at all. “Huh?”

“Your father has been complaining to me about you not talking to him. Can you try giving him a call?”

Stan shrugged. “I don’t really want to.”

“Why not?”

He shrugged again. “Dunno.”

She sighed, but dropped it, leaving him alone to stare back down at his phone and stab at the eggs he made. 

He stood up from his seat after a moment and poured the rest of his eggs into Sparky’s bowl. He gently stroked his head as he began to eat them before leaving the kitchen. 

He walked over to the couch and sat himself down next to his bag and his guitar case. He began to scroll through his phone to pass the time, liking some of his friends’ posts as he did so. Stan paused when he saw a picture of Wendy smiling with her parents. They were all seated at their dining table with their plates of breakfast, smiling at the camera. _Mom surprised us with breakfast! Love you, mom!_

He took another second to stare at the picture. She seemed so happy, but… was she? He wanted to know how she was fairing after their breakup, but he wasn’t sure if he should. His thumb hovered over her icon for a long moment before slowly pressing on her name to go to her account. He knew that this was a decision that he was going to wish he didn’t do, but it also satiated him for the moment. He scrolled through the pictures on her page taking note of how none of them shared any hint that she was distressed. _Of course, there wouldn’t. Why would she want to share that with the world?_

Even when he found out his answer, he continued to scroll through her page. After a bit, he began to notice that one factor was missing from her account; him. All the pictures of him and Wendy were gone and he felt his heart sink. _She really didn’t want to get back with him. She actually meant it this time._ He clenched his jaw and clicked off her account before he had gotten himself upset. He clicked on Clyde’s profile and began to scroll through his. It was still packed with pictures he had taken from the party. That made his mind wander to the dare, and the dare made him think about Butters.

His eyes wandered from the bright screen to the hand that he was using to scroll with. He thought back to yesterday and how he had held hands with Butters. He remembered how warm his hand felt in his own and he felt flushed at the memory, though he didn’t really know why he did. _He’s held hands with others before, both girls and guys, but why was it so different now?_ He wondered if he should get his gloves to wear for the day and after a moment of consideration, he placed down his phone and decided to run back up to his room to grab them. 

He made his way back down the stairs, pulling on his red gloves. He moved to pick up his phone from the couch to check the time. _It was 8:03. A good time to head out._ He shoved his phone in his pocket and picked up his bags and adjusted them in his hands, heading towards the front door. “Mom, I’m heading out!” 

He opened the front door just in time to see Butters standing there with his hand reaching towards the doorbell. “Oh!” He retracted his hand and clutched the straps of his bag. “Good morning, Stan!”

Stan pressed his lips together in a thin line. “Butters, you’re here...” _Again…_

He nodded with a smile. “Sure am!” His smile fell. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did you want me to stop?”

“Nah, it’s fine. Just…” He thought over his words carefully. “I can pick you up at your house. You don’t need to keep showing up so early.”

He noticed a look of worry show on his face for a second before vanishing, but he didn’t point it out. “Okay, I can do that.”

“Cool.” He closed the door behind him and made sure to lock it. He motioned Butters towards his car as he made his way to his own side. He placed his belongings inside and settled himself in the driver’s seat. He turned on the car and waited for Butters to finish with the click of his seatbelt before starting to drive.

Just like the day before, the ride was silent aside from the CD Stan had playing, though it wasn’t as loud as he usually played it. Stan tried focusing on the drive to the school, but he was hyper-aware of his passenger. He tried ignoring him and trying to listen to the words of the song, but Butters made it difficult to do when he was humming along to it. Stan sighed and moved to turn down the radio. “Butters?”

The blonde perked up at his nickname and looked at Stan with a bright glint in his eyes. “Yeah, Stan?”

As he drove, Stan gave small glances at him. “Are you okay with this?”

“With what?”

“With pretending to date me and whatever Cartman is going to have us do.”

“Course not, Stan.”

He gave him a side glance. “Why?”

“Well, because you’re a swell guy.” Stan gave him a look that asked ‘really?’ “Besides, we’re friends, right? Just think of it as being a little more close to your friend.”

Stan took a moment to think about what he said. “Is that how you think about it?”

Butters looked down at his lap and began to trace his knuckles. “Yeah.” There was a moment of silence from him. “Stan, I know that I might’ve crossed the line yesterday. If you’re not okay with somethin’ I do, you can tell me. I will stop, you know.”

“I’m not okay with any of this.” He saw Butters flinch at those words, so he added, “But thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

They were both silent for a moment. Stan moved to turn the song back up, but not before hearing Butters quickly telling him, “If it makes you feel any better, there’s nobody else I’d rather do this dare with but you.”

Stan felt like throwing up after hearing that, but he didn’t voice his feelings. Butters definitely had a way to make you feel bad and cut deeper with just his words. He didn’t feel the same, but he felt bad for having those feelings. It felt so nice hearing that, but he felt like he didn’t deserve it. They both left each other alone, leaving the car to go back into its silence.

Stan soon pulled into the parking lot of their school and found the same spot from yesterday. He turned off the car before moving to gather his things to get out. He pushed the door open and got himself out, adjusted his bag onto his shoulders, and held his case in his left hand, watching as Butters did the same. He made sure to lock his doors before they both started to walk towards the entrance of the school. 

As they walked towards the school to get out of the cold, Stan’s mind wandered back to the situation that happened around the same time. He took a glance at Butters to see him breathing into his cupped hands before rubbing them together and letting them fall back to his side. Stan bit his lip as he hesitated before deciding to slip his gloved hand into Butters’. He told himself earlier that he wasn’t going to do this, hence the gloves, but he couldn’t help himself. He continued to look forward as they walked, but he still saw Butters look up at him with a large smile from the corner of his eye. He tried to focus on making his way inside, but he still couldn’t help the embarrassment he still felt run through him as he seemed to only think about the hand in his own.

Stan didn’t know how long they stayed hand in hand, but they reached their lockers in a short matter of time. Butters let go of his hand and kneeled down to reach his locker while Stan went to his own, swiftly unlocking it. He placed down the case next to himself and emptied his bag from his books from yesterday to begin replacing them with the ones he knew he needed for today. It wasn’t much so he was able to finish up quickly. 

Stan closed his locker and turned to see if Butters was still there. Butters had his eyebrows furrowed as he was trying to fold up a set of clothes and try to shove it into his bag. Stan moved closer to him to wait for him to finish. He leaned against one of the nearby lockers and watched Butters from where he stood. 

He was adjusting the books and his clothing of the day in his bag before zipping it closed and swinging it onto his shoulder. He stood up and pushed his locker closed with his foot before turning to Stan. He visibly swallowed at the sudden eye contact with ravenette. “Uh, I’ll see you.” He lowered his head and moved to walk around him.

Stan clenched his jaw. He didn’t know what came over him at that moment, but he quickly grabbed Butters’ arm to stop him from walking any further. “Huh? What’s wrong-” Butters stopped his question when he felt Stan placed his free hand on his shoulder as he placed a chaste kiss on his forehead. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing would come out.

“See you.” He felt his thumb caress his left shoulder slightly before he finally removed himself. He watched Stan turn around and walk down the hall to his own class, but Butters' whole body felt like lead. He couldn’t move. He slowly brought his hand up to his forehead, gently grazing the spot where Stan had kissed just a second ago with the tips of his fingers.

“Hey, Butters, you alright?” He turned to see Nichole standing with Annie Knitts.

“Huh?” He noticed that he was still touching his forehead and he quickly dropped it to grip the strap of his bag. “Oh, y-yeah. I’m fine, I’m great!” He smiled at her, but this only earned a look of suspicion from her.

“Okay… Well, we gotta go. The bell is gonna ring in a few minutes.”

“Right, right. Class.” His hands tighten around his bag strap. “Yeah, let’s go.” He began to walk with the two girls to their AP English class. As soon as they stepped into the class, the bell had rung and Butters quickly sat himself down and took out his notebook for the class and the discussions they had. The teacher had begun to speak, but he couldn’t focus on the words she was saying.

Butters was distracted throughout the entirety of his class. He just kept on going back to Stan. He was definitely nicer than he was yesterday and Butters really did appreciate that. He knew that Stan was trying to get by this situation the best way he can. He knew he was a bit too excited and he needed to dial it back for the time being. But if Stan was starting to go along with everything now, he didn’t know how much he could take. Every now and again, he would gently touch the spot on his forehead as the thought of Stan would pop back into his mind. He tried participating in the class discussion, but his mind was all muddled. He would mumble a made-up response whenever the teacher would call on him and hoped that she would just nod and move on, but she would constantly ask for him to speak up. Luckily, he was seated next to Nichole who would tell her the correct answer with a ‘he said…’

When the class ended, he gave a sigh of relief. He quickly packed up his things and left the classroom. He waited for Nichole across the classroom door to thank her. When she walked out he walked up to her immediately. “Nichole, I wanted to thank you.”

She smiled at him. “No problem.” They began walking together through the hall. “Are you sure you’re okay? You were really out of it.”

“Yeah, I’m just a bit distracted today.” 

“Is that it?” He nodded. “Okay, I’ll believe you. But if there's something actually wrong, just know you can talk to me. I’m sure Token is always open to talk too if it’s a ‘guy thing’ or something like that.”

“Aw, well, that’s mighty sweet of you. Thank you.” The door to his next class, Calculus, came into view. They both came to a stop and Butters gave her a quick hug. “I’ll see you around,” he told her before going inside the classroom, giving her a small wave.

He took a peek at the board, where the teacher of the class typically wrote down what they needed to work on for the day, as he grabbed a calculator and the class book. He sat in his designated seat, pulled out a few sheets of paper, and began to work on the assigned questions. He took his time working through the problems, circling the answers on each question he wrote down. He usually liked to keep to himself in this class. He considered himself pretty good at Calculus, but any distraction could easily mess him up.

“I heard what happened yesterday with Stan.” Speaking of distractions. He finished writing down the answer to the problem he was working on and looked up to see Wendy. 

“Oh, didja?”

She nodded before pulling herself a chair to sit across from Butters. “Yeah. How are you taking this?”

He tried to focus on his work. He never exactly liked Wendy. She was a bit too needy for attention and self-centered for his taste. He forced a smile for her. “I’m fine. I know Stan is a bit uncomfortable with everything, but I think we’ll get by.”

“I don’t know about that,” she drawled. “I don’t really think you two will last with Stan’s behavior and all.” _Why ask if it didn’t matter what he said? Fucking bitch._ “Stan is a really honest person. Usually says what he means, you know.”

“ _Wow_ ,” Butters was just trying to entertain her now, “you must really know Stan, huh?”

The smile she gave him was a proud one. “I sure do. I guess that’s what seven years does.”

 _Yeah, seven on-and-off years._ He hummed in thought. “Oh, then I wonder what two months will do. I think we’ll get closer.”

She raised one of her eyebrows and made a face, basically asking him, ‘are you sure about that?’ “Well, I’ll wish you luck. Stan is a very difficult person; hard to manage.”

 _Stan isn’t a fucking dog._ Butters held his tongue about his thoughts for the moment. “Thank you, Wendy. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You’re welcome!” Wendy stood up to finally leave him alone. “Okay, well, I’ll let you finish your work.” She placed the chair back. “Oh, number twenty is wrong, by the way,” she told him before walking back to her desk.

Butters was glaring at the problem. _Shit, she was right._

* * *

Butters was starting to get aggravated now. Throughout the entirety of his class, Wendy kept on coming up to him to start up a random conversation; each one about Stan. It was like she was trying to prove to him that she was a better fit for this dare. If she was so worried, why talk to Butters about it? He was sure if she mentioned it to Stan, he definitely wouldn’t hesitate on taking her back, just like every other time. 

By the time the bell had rung for them to leave, Butters wasn’t finished with his work and he wanted to scream at her. She tried to talk to him once more when he was putting the calculator and book away, but he briskly walked by to his desk to grab his bag. He tried avoiding her as he walked to the teacher to ask if he could finish the work at home. After getting the ‘okay’ he ran out of the classroom and tried to get away from Wendy as fast as he could.

“Butters, w-wait up.” 

Hearing the familiar stutter, Butters slowed down his pace for his friend to catch up. “Oh, hi, Jimmy.”

“Are you okay? You looked r-really upset.”

Butters sighed. “Wendy was just really annoying me.”

“You looked- y-you loo- It seemed like you were going to p-punch her in the face. I’m surprised she didn’t no-n-notice.”

“She has her head so far up her ass to notice. I swear she rivals Eric.”

Jimmy laughed at this. “Do-don’t let her hear that.” Butters giggled along with him. He stopped by a door and gave a nod to Butters. “This is my stop. See ya.”

“Yeah, see ya.” Butters continued to his own class, which was now Spanish. When he reached the class, he found a seat in the room and waited to see what would make his day sink further.

* * *

His Spanish class wasn’t as bad as he expected, especially when he shared it with Eric Cartman. He was surprised to find him leaving him alone throughout the entirety of the lesson. He chose not to ask him why. He didn’t want to suddenly make everything ten times worse.

Though, when he went to his Auto Repair Workshop class, the last person he’d expect had made his entire day worse than it should be:

Butters, currently in the boys’ locker room, was changing out of his clothes of the day and dressing into something both comfy and that he didn’t mind getting dirty; a ‘wife-beater’ and a pair of old sweats. Once he finished, he folded his clothes and shoved them into his bag for the time being and left the locker room.

He was one of the first people to reach their assigned school’s garage for his class. It was large enough to fit eight cars in, therefore his class was small. He placed his bag down at the front before going to his teacher’s desk to grab his notebook and the key for his assigned car. He placed the notebook and key down on his rolling stool and popped open the hood of the car.

Butters began to overlook the car to refresh himself on what he already worked on. He wrote down a quick report on the vehicle and its status before doing a mental checklist of the tools he knew he needed and started to get to work on his final project for the class.

As he worked on the car, the other students slowly made their way in to join him on working on their own projects. Craig was the first of his friends to come in, settling to work on the car on his right. Then, it was Kenny, focusing on his own car on his left.

After a while, he heard someone speak up. “So, Butters?” He looked towards Kenny at the call of his name. 

“Yeah, Ken?”

“You weren’t on the bus yesterday,” he reached over to grab his rag to wipe his hands, “or this morning. What happened?”

“Oh.” He turned back to his work. “Stan’s been giving me a ride.”

“Stan?”

“Yeah, Stan.”

“Why?”

He glanced over at Kenny to see his eyebrows furrowed. “Well, what do you mean ‘why?’”

“Why is Stan giving you a ride to school?”

Butters shrugged. “I came over and he let me come with him.”

“Let me take you home instead. I don’t want you going with Stan.”

“You don’t want me going with Stan,” he repeated with a frown.

“No. He isn’t even treating you right. I’m not going to have him say some shit to you that-”

“Aren’t you supposed to be worrying about how you’re going to take Tweek home?” He saw Craig perk up from behind the hood of the car he was working on at the mention of the blonde’s name.

“You can come with us.”

Butters huffed. “Why?”

“What do you mean ‘why?’ I just told you that I don’t want you going-”

“Yeah, yeah, you don’t want me going with him. What do you want me to do? Ride the _bus_ with you? Stan could’ve said ‘no’ and left me, but he _didn’t_.”

“So, what if he didn’t? It doesn’t change the fact that he’s a dick that has quickly lost my trust.”

Butters rolled his eyes at his choice of words. Over the years, he’s come to learn that Kenny is always one to overreact. Butters turned to Craig who was watching them, lazily tinkering with the engine on his assigned car. “Would you do this if Tweek was with Stan?”

He shrugged. “Yeah.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“No. If Stan had said those things to him, he’d probably tweak out. No pun intended.”

“See?” Butters turned back to glare at Kenny. “I’m not the only one who’d worry.”

“Just because he shares the same selfish views as you, doesn’t make it right,” he told him, earning a ‘hey!’ from Craig.

Kenny narrowed his eyes. “Well, _technically_ , it’s two versus one. So, I’m taking you home.”

“You aren’t my father.”

“Might as well be. Yours doesn’t even do that right.”

Butters clenched his fists when he heard Kenny say that. “Oh, really?” _Butters could admit that it hurt hearing that coming from him._

“Yes. Butters, you can’t handle Stan like I can. He’s going to end up saying something stupid to you and it’ll hurt you because you’re weaker.”

Butters felt his face become warm at those words. “I am _not_ weak!” his voice cracked as he walked over to Kenny. “I can take care of myself. You _don’t_ need to protect me. I can handle Stan.” He snatched the wrench away from Kenny to use for himself. 

“I didn’t mean- I’m just trying to look out for you.”

He snapped his head towards him. “Well, it’s annoying knowing that you think I can’t do anything!”

“Boys!” Butters jumped at the loud voice and looked at their teacher who was watching them with a frown. “Focus on your own cars or you will hurt yourselves. You can fight with each other outside of this classroom.”

“Yes, sir,” Butters mumbled. He turned back to his car and continued to work on it. 

Luckily, Kenny had left him alone for the rest of their class. He was still upset at him, and at Craig for agreeing with him. He didn’t understand their worry to force someone to do what they want. He knew he could do things for himself, he knew _Tweek_ was strong enough to do things for himself too. He wondered what Tweek would think if he knew the conversation they had and whether he would side along with him or with his boyfriend.

The final bell rang for the day and Butters sighed in relief. He grabbed his rag and began to wipe his hands, looking over everything he knew he needed to work on for next time. He began to write down his final report of the day so he kept track of his progress.

He felt someone place their hands on his shoulder. “Wait for me after showers.” The hand left him and Butters continued to stare down at the notebook he was writing in. He looked towards the door just in time to see Kenny leave the school’s garage and into the school, chatting to one of their classmates. 

Butters felt himself start to become upset and he knew he needed to leave. He briskly stood up, throwing his rag on the toolbox he had to share with Kenny, and reached up to close the hood of the car. He moved to the front of the room and grabbed his bag. He placed his notebook on his teacher's desk, nodding at him. “Have a good day, sir,” he told his teacher before quickly running across the room and leaving the garage through the door that led outside. 

He immediately regretted his decision when he was hit with a blast of cold air. It was worse when he was drenched in sweat after being in such a warm room for so long. He slung his bag over his shoulder and began to run towards the football field where he knew Stan had parked his car. He crossed his arms over his chest and held onto his biceps in hopes that he could keep some of his warmth. He saw the car come into view and not far away was the familiar teen wearing his red poof ball hat. He began to sprint towards the two and waving his arms. “Stan!”

He looked towards him and he saw his eyes widened. “Butters?” He saw him jog towards his car, unlocking it and quickly placing his bags inside. The engine revved on as Butters reached the car and he pulled open the door and hopped inside, placing his bag near his feet. He sighed in relief as the heater was already put on blast and was hitting his exposed skin nicely. He let his head hit the seat and he tried to catch his breath.

“Dude, what the fuck? What are you wearing? It’s freezing.”

He turned to look at Stan. His eyes were wide and he was looking down towards Butters’ torso. He looked down at the thin undershirt he wore for the class. He looked back at Stan. “I’m sorry. It’s what I wear for Auto Repair. I can take it off if you're worried that it’s gonna get your car dirty.”

“No!” Stan pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment before moving to clutch the steering wheel with both his hands. “No, it’s fine.”

“Okay.” He clicked on the seatbelt and leaned back again. He took a peek at Stan and noticed that he seemed to be a bit uncomfortable. He thought over an excuse in his mind. “I’m sorry, I usually change, but I was worried that you would leave without me.”

He saw his eyebrows twitch up in surprise and he turned to look at him. “What? Dude, no. I’m not gonna leave you behind. Unless you tell me to or something.”

Butters’ eyes widened slightly. “Really?”

“Yeah, man. I was actually just going to wait out here and send you a text. Then, I saw you and…” He drifted off. He noticed that his eyes shifted down to look at his torso again. 

He looked towards the clock and checked the time, noticing that Kenny would be done with his shower at this time. He glanced over to the school, hoping that he wasn’t looking for him.

“Dude, aren’t you cold?”

He shrugged. “I’ll be fine.” 

He heard rustling and small jingles coming from Stan and he turned to look at him just in time to see his signature brown coat being shoved in his face. “Here.”

He took a peek at Stan and saw that he was trying to avoid looking at him. “Aw, gee, Stan. You don’t gotta do that. Then, you’ll be cold.”

“It’s fine.” He dropped the coat onto his lap. “Just put it on.”

Butters smiled. He had his sweater in his bag that he was planning on getting, but he wasn’t going to pass this chance. He quickly pulled on the coat and almost melted at the warmth that it still held from Stan. “Thank you.”

Stan clicked on his seatbelt and prepared to leave the parking lot, mumbling, “You’re welcome.” He began to drive and Butters took this time to look out of the window.

He was watching everything pass by them. He was trying to clear his mind of everything that happened with the white snow and the flashes of people who were walking. He crossed his arms and carefully leant his head against the window, flinching at its coldness. He closed his eyes, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with fatigue.

“Hey,” he heard Stan start, “you okay?”

He sighed. “No.”

There was a moment of silence. “Do you want to talk about it?”

He shook his head. “No.” Another silence. “I just had a bit of a rough day.” _And he still had his parents to deal with._ “I’ll get over it.”

“Oh. Okay.” He opened his eyes and noticed that Stan had begun to pull into a driveway. He looked towards the house and noticed that it wasn’t his own. He probably pulled in front of his own house. “If you, uh…” He looked over at Stan. “If you ever need someone to talk to or to just listen, I don’t mind doing that. I mean, we’re going to be stuck together, so might as well.” Stan noticeably tensed and his eyes widened. The expression on his face made Butters bite back a laugh. “Fuck, wait, that’s not what I meant.”

He laughed lightly. “Thank you. That does make me feel a little better.”

Stan relaxed. “Sure, dude. Whatever you need, you’re my friend.”

Butters smiled fondly at him. He suddenly felt overwhelmed with mixed emotions and he couldn’t help a question from forming at his lips. “Can I…” He quickly stopped himself. He was sure Stan wouldn’t want to.

“What?”

“It’s nothing.” He leaned forward and grabbed his bag. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He gripped the handle to open the door.

“Butters, what do you want?”

He squeezed the handle. If Stan reacted badly, he could just pull and run. His house wasn’t that far, just a few houses down. He sighed before saying in a soft voice, “Can I hug you?” He was staring hard at his shoes, anticipating his response.

“A hug? Dude, is that it?” He nodded. He heard the driver door open and he snapped his head up to see Stan getting out of the car and Butters immediately felt dread fill his body. Whether Stan had just left the situation or he only got out to make Butters feel worse in a more physical way, it left him heartbroken.

The door on his side opened and Butters looked up at Stan with wide eyes. He awkwardly got out and was ready to bolt down the sidewalk. He looked at Stan and was surprised when he lifted his arms and held them open. Butters stared at him for a moment and was sure that this was a trick of some kind. Stan only gestured for him to come forward with his arms.

With a growing smile, he dropped his bag to the ground and immediately wrapped his arms around his torso, placing his hands on the back of his shoulders. Butters was only a few inches shorter than Stan, but it was enough to place his head in the right spot - the crook of his neck. He took in a deep breath, noting how Stan smelled of whatever cologne he was wearing and a hint of something Butters couldn’t pinpoint. The hug was nice and comfortable, though he could feel that Stan was tense, he still appreciated that he allowed him to do this. He pulled back a bit and looked up at Stan for a moment, relishing in the moment until it ended.

Stan moved slightly and was now looking back at him and he felt himself become embarrassed at the closeness. He was sure he had been staring at him for a little too long, but he wanted to use this opportunity to take in all of his features. His favorite feature was his eyes. They were a clear shade of sapphire, but that wasn’t what drew him to them. It was how much emotion he showed through them, whether it was passion, happiness, or sadness. He had dark circles under his eyes now, and Butters felt saddened at this. He knew that Stan had his days where he had trouble sleeping and he wished that he could help in any way. He was trying to look into his eyes to find what he could see right now, but it was a bit difficult looking into both with only one eye and being at such a close range. Stan had gotten really handsome over the years. Even with the fact that his appearance was the last thing he had thought about when going _anywhere_ didn’t change that. He even had stubble growing at the moment, but his face was usually clean-shaven. He always considered Wendy to be very lucky to be with Stan. He always wondered why she broke up with him, what Stan had even seen in her.

If he was given the chance to kiss the ravenette, truly kiss him, at least once in his lifetime, Butters would definitely take it. He swallowed and tried to get rid of those thoughts for the moment as he smiled up at him. “Thank you, Stan. I really needed this.” He noticed that Stan’s body temperature was becoming very warm and he had to hold himself back from reaching up to touch his face to see if Stan was coming down with a fever.

As quick as the hug started, it ended just as fast with Stan harshly pushing him away. Butters didn’t have a chance to ask him what was wrong because Stan practically sprinted to his front door telling him that he’d see him tomorrow. 

Butters looked at the door that Stan disappeared behind. “Oh… Okay, see you tomorrow,” he mumbled to himself, knowing that Stan wouldn’t hear him either way. He picked up his bag before walking towards his own house. 

He groaned aloud when he saw the two cars of his parents in the driveway. _They were both home early_. He walked up to his doorstep and pulled his keys out from his bag before unlocking the door. With a sigh, he opened the door and walked in. “Mom, dad, I’m home.”

A response was immediate. “Butters, do you know what time it is?” His father exclaimed.

“I think it’s almost four-thirty, sir.”

“Yes! Where were you? I know you leave early on both days so you should be home at two. Two thirty at the latest. Look at your mother, she’s worried sick.”

Butters took a glance at his mother in the kitchen, not particularly upset at his 'lateness.' He didn’t dare point this out. “I’m sorry, sir. I’ve been getting a ride from one of my friends, but he can’t leave early because he has full classes. I have to wait until he’s done to get back. I’m not foolin’ around; honest.” He tried explaining to him. Then he remembered that his early days only took place on every other day. “Oh, but today I had my four classes, so I would be coming home around this time anyway.”

“Are you talking back to me?”

“No! No, sir, I’m not. It’s just my schedule’s always been that way.”

“Give me your phone and go to your room.”

“But-”

“Now!”

Butters looked defeated. “Yes, sir.” He pulled his phone out from his bag and placed it in his father’s outstretched hand. He went to the kitchen and placed a light kiss on his mother’s cheek with a, “Hi, mom.” He quickly made his way out of the kitchen and up the stairs before his father could begin yelling at him again.

When he reached his room, he placed his belongings on his desk chair. He took off his coat, deciding to take a shower before starting to work on his homework. He grabbed his clothes and went to the bathroom, hoping he wouldn’t get into even more trouble by doing so.

* * *

After cleaning himself up and getting himself comfortable in his pajamas, he began to continue his work from his Calculus class. Luckily, he wrote down the questions beforehand so he wouldn’t have to rely on his phone if he had taken a picture instead. 

“Butters! Dinner is ready!” He heard his mother call. 

He stood from his desk to go join his parents at the table, but stopped when he heard his father say loudly for him to hear, “No! If he wants to lie and think it’s necessary to goof around, he gets no dinner!”

He sighed and sat himself back at his desk. He shouldn’t let this bother him as much as it did. He should be used to it, but no matter how many times his father would take something away, especially his dinner, it hurt his chest. His parents were supposed to love and care for him, but they’ve never done that. They usually blame him for things he knew he didn’t do, and Butters usually went along with them. As much as he knew that deep down, they didn’t truly love him, he still loved them. They were his parents. He needed to.

After finishing his Calculus work, he took a glance around his room to find something to entertain himself until he could fall asleep. He could go on his computer, but he didn’t feel like looking through any messages he had gotten, whether it came from his phone, which he had connected it to, or from Coonstagram. It was also risky if his father suddenly walked in.

Maybe he could read a book, he hasn’t done that in a while. He looked towards his dresser and saw a couple of books settled at the top of it. He stood up from his desk and over to the small pile of books he had. He picked up a random book, making sure it wasn’t a workbook of some sort and walked over to his bed to make himself comfortable.

He adjusted his blanket and went to sit down, but noticed something on it. He picked it up in his free hand and immediately recognized the item. It was Stan’s coat. He completely forgot that he was wearing it. He considered asking if he could return it to him, but he highly doubted that his parents would let him at the moment.

He bit his lip and placed down the book he was planning to read on his bedside table. He looked around his room as if he was surrounded by peering eyes before hesitantly lifting the coat to his nose and taking in a breath. It still smelled like him. He slipped on the coat and sighed. It was like Stan was hugging him again.

He crawled under his covers and curled up into his bed, watching the sun slowly setting itself. He felt tears prick at his eyes and he tried to blink them away. _He was really glad Stan hugged him earlier_ . _He's been needing one for a long time and God knows it wouldn't come from his parents. Though, he did wish that it had lasted longer. Stan was warm…_ He wrapped his arms around himself and tried to press himself into his pillow, pretending that he was actually being held by Stan once again. He closed his eyes and tried to force himself asleep, but it proved difficult when he felt tears begin to slowly fall. He covered his mouth, so he wouldn’t give his parents any clue about his crying, and he gave a silent sob.

_He was so warm._


	4. Chapter 4

When Butters awoke the following morning to his alarm clock blaring beside him, he shot up and clutched at his chest. He fumbled as he reached out to hit the alarm button, trying to silence it. He sighed in relief and lied back down for a moment, staring at his ceiling. He realized that he was warmer than usual and found his hands touching around the added material around his torso. He then realized what the thick material was.

_Stan’s coat._

He clutched the collar of the coat and brought it up to his nose to take another deep breath. _Fuck, his smell was intoxicating_. A familiar warmth ran through his body and he shifted in his bed. He let his eyes fall closed as he let one of his hands trail downwards, his touch light. He pressed his nose more into the coat as he slowly began to rub himself through the thin material of his pajama bottoms. He gave a blissful sigh and let his hips buck upward to gain more friction.

A loud banging at his door made him jolt upward, hands leaving their spots to attempt to hide what he was just doing. “Butters? Butters! I know you heard your alarm. Get up right now!”

“Yes, sir!” He clambered out of his bed and pulled off the coat. He began to quickly dig through his closet and pulled out a pair of slacks and his usual white button-up shirt. He grabbed his towel and went to leave his room. He was met with the familiar angered man standing in front of his door with crossed arms. He looked down towards the ground, feeling embarrassed. “I’m sorry, sir.”

“You better be. Now, go clean yourself! You’re disgusting.”

He nodded, feeling his face become warm. “Yes, sir.”

His father stepped aside and Butters made a beeline towards the bathroom to shower. He stripped himself down and turned on the water. He immediately hopped in and flinched when he felt the water on him. He made sure to keep the water cold to try to get rid of his problem. He shivered under the temperature, but he attempted to clean himself as best as he could. 

Once he finished, he turned off the water and stepped out, reaching for his towel. He made sure to dry himself and pull on his clothes before styling his hair for the day. He always found this aspect to be difficult with only being able to see through one eye, but he would manage.

He placed his pajamas in the laundry bin, knowing his mother had her Wednesdays off and preferred to do the laundry then. He left the bathroom and immediately went downstairs to go to the kitchen. His father wasn’t anywhere to be seen; most likely went back into his bedroom. Butters sighed in relief and turned on the light in the kitchen.

He began to make himself some breakfast, something large to make up for the missed meal of the following night. Cooking was another thing he struggled with, but it didn’t stop him from enjoying the activity. He added light seasonings of salt and pepper to his eggs and bacon as they cooked. 

He lowered the temperature and left them to proceed to the pantry where he grabbed the oatmeal flakes. He grabbed an extra pot and began to make himself a serving.

He began humming to himself, the familiar song about apples he would always sing as a kid, as he continued his preparation. Times like these, where he was alone and doing something he enjoyed, he loved. Pretending he was alone in the house with no worries in the world, that was always where his mind would wander to.

Once he decided that the food was ready, he moved them off the heat and began to set the table for his meal with a small glass of orange juice. He set his plates down and sat himself down at the table to eat.

His time of solitary bliss came to an end when he heard loud footsteps coming towards the kitchen. He mentally prepared himself as his father walked in.

“Hi, dad. Want me to make you anything?”

“No.” His response was quick. He dug through his coat pockets before pulling out a phone and slamming it on the middle of the table. Butters had to force himself not to flinch every time his father did this. “Here’s your phone. I’m heading to work,” he told him before briskly leaving the kitchen.

“Have a good day!” Butters called to him, but the only response he got was the front door slamming closed. He sighed and reached forward to grab his phone. He took a glance at the screen to see if it had formed any cracks. With how many times his father threw or slammed his phone, it never gave in to crack, at most, it would gain a small scratch or two. Butters was grateful for that, he wouldn’t have enough money to constantly keep on buying a new phone for himself.

He unlocked his phone and the immediate notification to pop up was a message sent to him during the night from an unknown number: _937-4329._ He hesitantly clicked on it and read the three message bubbles that were sent to him during the night.

_Hey_

_This is Twerk_

_Tweek! It’s Tweek!_

Butters giggled to himself at the autocorrect as he added Tweek’s number to his contacts. He responded with a:

_Hi, Tweek!_

_Did you need something?_

He set his phone down for the moment and finished eating his breakfast before it was too late. He stayed in his seat for a moment to relax and let his breakfast settle before grabbing the dirtied dishes to clean them in the sink. For a brief moment, he wondered what Stan was doing - if he was still asleep, if he was eating now himself.

As he finished cleaning the last dish, he saw his mother walk in. “Good morning, mom. Do you want me to make you anything?”

She groaned and ran a hand over her face. “A coffee.”

“Okay!” He immediately went to work, going to the pantry to grab the ground coffee to make a cup. He tried to focus on his task rather than interacting with her, trying to not get on her bad side for the time being.

 _Two sugars and a dash of cream. That's how she liked it._ He repeated that in his head as he waited for the coffee to be made into the pot. It took a bit of time, but it finally finished. He grabbed a mug for his mother and began to pour her a cup. He added her likings and grabbed a spoon to stir them in better before handing the mug to her.

“Thank you, Butters.”

“You’re welcome.” He cautiously reached for his phone. “I’m gonna go to my room until I have to go to school. If that’s no problem, ma’am.”

She waved her hand at him as she took a sip. “That’s fine.”

He left the kitchen before she could change her mind. He quickly made his way up to his room to be left alone. Grabbing his bag, he settled himself on his desk and turned on his computer. He began to continue his research on different colleges and scholarships he could apply to and writing down notes on his findings.

His phone buzzed two times and he reached over to pick it up to see who had messaged him. It was Tweek again:

_Just wanted to check on you_

_Figured we should stick together considering everything_

He leaned back in his chair and began to type out a response. _Well, that’s nice of you! I’m good so far! How about you?_ He sent the message and expected to wait a bit for the next, but was surprised when it came almost immediately. 

_I’m good_

_Just trying to get used to not having Craig around as much_

He continued to text Tweek to pass the time. He’s never talked to him like this, but he liked it. They ended up talking about Stan and Kenny, just brief points of how they were at the moment before another text popped up. It was from Stan:

_hey i’m outside_

Butters perked up and took a peek out of his window seeing that Stan was indeed waiting outside his house in his car. He began to run around his room, grabbing his belongings. He was used to being ready to leave on his own accord, not someone else’s. He grabbed his black dress shoes as he fumbled with shoving his homework in his bag trying to quickly leave his room. He hopped on one foot as he tried to pull his shoe on before alternating to do the other. He ran down the stairs and popped his head into the kitchen for a moment. “I’m going to school now, mom.”

“Alright, Butters. You have a good day.”

“Okay! You do too,” He told her as he left the kitchen.

He reached the door and he suddenly remembered something he had forgotten to do. He considered just leaving it be for the day, but he remembered that his mother was off and poking and prodding through his room was one of the things she liked to do. He dropped his bag beside the door and left to go back upstairs to his room. He quickly locked his computer to at least prevent her from looking through that. There wasn’t anything else he could do about anything else in his room.

He left his room and went back downstairs to grab his bag and leave the house. He reached for the doorknob before a sense of panic ran through him. He turned and quickly ran back up the stairs. He went to his room and his gaze landed on the brown mass on his bed. He grabbed it and tried to fold it to the best of his abilities and make it seem like he hadn't worn it to bed. 

He heard knocking on the door, making him move quicker. The last thing he wanted was his mother to open the door and begin to question Stan. He clutched onto the coat and ran back down the stairs, catching his mother coming out of the kitchen. “I got it! I got it!” Luckily, she left without a question. Oh, to have his mother always not fully awake to be up his ass.

He checked himself with his phone for a moment to make sure he still looked decent. He shoved his phone in his back pocket and took a deep breath before opening the door with a smile. "Good morning, Stan!"

Stan looked as though he was going to pass out at any moment, the bags under his eyes more prominent than usual. He mumbled a 'good morning' back before turning to trudge back to his car. 

Butters stepped out of his house, locking the door before following Stan. “Oh, Stan!” The said boy stopped and turned to look at him, yawning into his hand as he did. “Here’s your coat.”

Stan looked down at the coat before looking back up at Butters’ face. “Keep it.”

Butters blinked in confusion. “Huh? But… but it’s yours, Stan.”

He shrugged. “I have others. Just keep it.”

 _He didn’t trust himself to keep it._ “No, it’s yours. I don’t want to keep it.”

Stan sighed. “Aren't you cold?”

Butters shook his head and held out the coat towards him once again. 

He pushed it away gently. “Honestly, Butters.”

He watched Stan’s face. He would usually ignore the cold, using any other means to keep warm except for wearing a jacket. ‘ _Style over comfort’ his mother would always say._ He sighed, giving in. “Well, just a bit.”

“So, wear it.”

Thoughts of what he was about to do as he wore the coat after he woke up made a wash of shame run through him. “No, I… I can’t. I…” He couldn't finish. He felt a lump grow in his throat to stop him from talking.

Stan sighed again. “Fine.” He took the coat from his hands and shrugged it on over the hoodie he was wearing. He nodded towards the car. “Let’s go.” 

Butters reached his side and settled himself in while Stan got himself strapped in before starting to drive them to school.

Just as their former rides were, it was silent aside from the music playing. Deciding to not bother Stan for the moment, he pulled his phone back at to see another message from Tweek. Something complaining about Craig that had made him giggle. He sent something back among the lines that he wouldn’t have to deal with Craig that much, and how it was the same for him, but it was with Kenny. Though, he might’ve made everything worse by running away yesterday.

Tweek had sent a quick message about needing to go, Kenny now picking him up, but suggested to talk to him. 

_I can try if you want me to_

_I’ll leave that up to you_

Butters thanked him and let him know that he’d try himself, not wanting him to burden himself with it. He went to turn off his phone, but another bubble popped up from Tweek. The message made him look at Stan, who was more focused on the road.

_Stan talked to me yesterday_

_He feels bad for everything and says he wants to make it up to you_

He smiled at the teen and turned back to his phone. 

_Aw, that's sweet of him._

Butters placed his phone in his bag as Stan pulled into the parking lot. He pulled his bag into his lap and waited until Stan parked his car to get out. When the car stopped and was turned off, Butters heard Stan give a deep sigh as he hopped out from his sigh. He looked at him concerned, but Stan paid no mind to him as he began to grab his things. Butters placed his bag over his head and onto his shoulder, tracing the strap along his chest as he watched Stan. He was moving slower than usual with a far off look in his eyes. He took a step closer to him and went to ask him if he needed any help, but Stan slammed the door closed and moved to walk towards the school. Butters followed him and soon caught up with him to walk by his side. They stayed quiet as they made their way to the front doors of the school.

He noticed that Stan didn’t make a move to hold his hand like he had done the day before. Butters looked at their hands, close but not touching. He wasn't sure whether to take initiative or not. Instead, he decided to speak up in hopes to get the unusually quiet teen to talk.

“Stan?”

He hummed in response.

“Are you okay?”

He hummed again. “Mm, yeah. Just tired.”

“Oh, okay.” He decided to leave Stan alone again, not wanting to bother him any further.

As they walked side by side, some giggling nearby caught his attention. He looked over to a group of girls, a few he recognized as past flings, and saw them looking at the two. He smiled and waved at them, but was quick to notice a sour expression on one of their faces. She was also someone he dated for a bit throughout his Sophomore year, Kelly Pinkerton-Tinfurter. She whispered something to the girls and they all immediately gathered together to seemingly gossip.

He felt a chill run through him and he had a gut feeling that they were speaking about him, specifically about him and Stan. Knowing that he had a fifty/fifty chance of getting a negative reaction or getting him to play along, he slipped his hand into Stan’s gloved one. He felt him jolt and he looked up just in time to see him look at him with wide eyes. He smiled at him and carefully wrapped his free arm around Stan’s own to be hugging it as they walked. He leaned his head against his shoulder, risking a glance towards the girls.

“What are you-?”

“They’re watching us,” he spoke in a low voice so only he could hear.

Stan's mouth opened and after a moment, closed. A pink dusted on his cheeks and he saw as his eyes scanned over the people they walked by. “Oh… right, right. People are watching…” He mumbled. 

Butters looked up at Stan, noticing how he looked like he was about to explode. With a pout, he told him, “Stan, you mind looking like you enjoy this instead of looking like you’re constipated?”

He looked at him with a shocked expression before a light laugh came from him. “Dude, I do not look like that.”

Butters laughed himself, happy to have gotten a reaction out of him, a positive one at that. “You do!” They reached the steps of the school and he took another glance at the group of girls, now noticing how they were all frowning at the two. He smiled and waved at them, Kelly glared back.

Once inside the building, Butters moved himself away from Stan but kept their hands together as they walked through the halls. They passed by some other people he knew, and he waved at them, making sure that he was notably closer to Stan than he usually was. The girls and his classmates were sure to spread it around and Eric could leave them alone. Well, at least dial back a bit from them.

They reached their lockers and broke apart for the moment. Butters went over to his locker and squatted down to unlock it. He made sure to keep what he needed and take out what he didn’t. He added his book for his psychology class and closed his locker. He stood up and went to stand by Stan’s side. He placed a book back into his locker before closing it. Stan turned to him and they both looked at one another for a moment. 

Butters tried to hold back a shudder he felt coming from his intense stare. He swallowed and took a small step closer to him. “Should…” Butters cupped his mouth with one hand and leaned closer to whisper the question to him. “Should I kiss you?”

Stan noticeably grimaced. He immediately tensed when he realized what he did. “Ah, sorry, I-”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to.” He began to fiddle with the strap of his bag.

Stan swallowed his pride and decided to ask him, “Want me to walk you to class?”

He looked at him and shrugged. “It’s fine, Stan. You don't have to force yourself.” He moved past him. “I’ll see you after school.”

Stan stood there for a moment longer, trying to prepare himself for the day, but nosy eyes were watching him. He tried to shrink himself into his coat and quickly moved away from their stares.

He reached his English class and greeted the teacher, who then told him to grab a school laptop. He grabbed one for himself and quickly found his seat. He set up the computer on his desk and pulled his book out from his bag. He pulled up his document, but didn’t immediately start his work, instead, he pulled up a game to mess around on until he felt the inspiration to actually work.

One by one, the classroom began to fill in with each student as Stan tapped on the keys as his character jumped over gaps in the ground.

He heard the seat being pulled back 

“Hey, dude.” 

Kenny sat beside him but didn’t reciprocate the greeting. He chose not to say anything about it. Instead, he turned back to his screen and continued the game.

The bell rang and their teacher was quick to give them instructions to work on their essays and when it was due to be turned in, she ten left the class to their own demise.

His thoughts began to drift to Butters, as much as he didn’t want to think of him at the moment. _He didn’t know how he could easily change and adapt to the whole situation. Didn’t it bother him to pretend to date each other, and for two months? Clearly not with what he’s been like over the last two days… or maybe he was just a really good actor. But… the hug he seemed to want felt genuine._ _When they shared that hug, he felt as if he was about to pass out. It especially didn’t help when Butters was staring at him for almost the entirety of it. He felt… nervous? Maybe it was because of Cartman putting ridiculous ideas into his head about the whole dare. Maybe he just didn’t feel good. Either or, he couldn’t sleep because of it._

With a quick glance towards Kenny, making sure he wasn’t paying attention to his screen, he began to lower the brightness of the computer. He opened up a search engine, hesitating before typing in ‘ _why do i feel nervous when i hug someone_ ,’ and pressed enter. He scrolled through the pages, but all that popped up were different sites of having anxiety or why it’s good to hug people, nothing that seemed to catch his eye. He sighed and retyped the search, this one now making him feel embarrassed, ‘ _why do i feel nervous when i hug a guy_ .’ This time he had gotten results about signs a guy can show when he’s nervous. He bit back a groan. This wasn’t helping. He glanced at the blonde sitting next to him. _Would Kenny know?_

He tried to disguise the question - lead up to what he actually wanted to ask. “Hey, dude, how are you getting along with Tweek?”

He waited for a moment, but Kenny didn’t respond. He leaned forward to try to get somewhat into his line of sight.

“Dude?” He continued to type away at the computer. Stan sighed and poked his arm, thinking he couldn’t hear him. “Kenny?”

“Are you an idiot or do I actually have to spell out that I don’t want to fucking talk to you?”

He scoffed. “What’s your fucking deal, man?”

He didn’t respond, but Stan could see his eyebrows furrowed. 

“If this is still about Butters, you're overreacting. If he had a problem, he could tell me himself. You don’t have to be all in his ass about it.”

He only got his arm raised in a manner of disbelief along with a shake of his head. “I’m _overreacting_ ,” he told Clyde, who just awkwardly looked between them.

“You are.”

Kenny looked at him and only glared at him, hard. “You are _such_ a dick, you know that?”

Stan scowled and turned back to the laptop. _Kenny wasn’t going to help._ “Isn’t it just the craziest thing? I suddenly can’t understand you - must be the huge ass parka.”

This earned a kick to his leg, but Stan only kicked back. They kept at this for the rest of their class, making snarky remarks and causing new bruises on each other’s shins.

* * *

When the bell rang for his English class to end, Stan was more than happy to leave. Kenny was getting on his last nerve and if he had stayed any longer, he wouldn’t have hesitated to reel back and punch him. He gathered his belongings and left as quickly as he could to get his next classes over with.

His Music Theory class and his Athletics class passed by in a breeze. Nothing new; he did as he always did in the classes. Completing his new instrumental assignments for the day and then becoming sweaty as he trained with the rest of the football team, which always resulted in him needing a shower.

After the shower, he dressed and quickly headed to the cafeteria to grab and pay for his lunch. He left the line and looked for his group’s usual table. He saw the familiar green ushanka sitting across from an orange parka. With a deep breath, he forced himself to keep his snarky remarks to himself as he sat himself beside his best friend.

Kyle immediately snapped to look at him. “Oh, thank God, you’re here.”

He looked between the two, Kenny not particularly looking interested. “What, uh… What happened?”

“I _hate_ being paired with Craig.”

“Here we go again,” Kenny’s voice, though muffled, sounded annoyed.

“So, yesterday, we came to an agreement that he could start driving me to school. I went to his house this morning, met his family, nice people,” he shook his head, “Not the point. I had to sit there and awkwardly explain that we-” He stopped himself, stabbing at his packed lunch with his fork as he faked a gag. “I don’t even want to say it.”

“So, you met his family and you're mad?”

“That is not why! He wasn’t even awake when I got to his house! Then that,” he watched as Kyle’s eyes scanned the room before pointing directly at Craig, “ _fucker_ decided to take forever, not giving a flying fuck that I had to deal with his parents for him. Because of him, we were almost late to school and he doesn’t give a shit. And he even _insisted_ that we wait for Kenny and Tweek to show up. Do you know what he said when we _finally_ got into school and I said that we could’ve been late?” He didn't let Stan answer. “‘But we weren’t.’ ‘But we weren’t,’ Stan!”

 _But you weren’t late_. Stan only thought this, not trying to risk his outburst to be aimed towards him instead.

“But…” Kenny started slowly. _He was taking the risk_. “You weren’t late, right?”

Kyle turned towards him with his eyebrows deeply furrowed. “It doesn’t matter if we were or not. We were _almost_ late! What if we’re late tomorrow because he’s being an asshole _again_ ?” He turned back to the ravenette. “I can’t _stand_ him. Stan, I don’t think I’m gonna last two months doing this. I don’t know how Tweek-”

Cartman sat across from Stan, making Kyle stop himself from talking any further. He intertwined his fingers and set his chin on it, keeping his eyes on Kyle. Stan looked between the two. Cartman had a smirk on his face and Kyle had his eyebrows furrowed as his face slowly began to grow red with fast-growing anger.

“What do you want, Fatass?”

“Well, if you must know, Jew-boy. I want you to go get your boyfriend and bring him over here.” 

Kyle’s face grew even more red. “Why?”

“Because I need you to, _Kawl_.” He waved his hand at him. “Now, go get him and sit with the other twinks. I need to talk to him” This earned a small laugh from Kenny.

Kyle began to sputter, obviously upset at being called a ‘twink.’

Stan sighed. “Dude, just go. You know he says those things to get under your skin.”

Kyle began to pack his lunch. “I can’t believe you’re taking his side.”

“Don't be too surprised.” Kenny snipped.

Stan glared at the blonde, but he only glared back. 

“Aww~! Kenny’s all mad because Stan stole his little boy toy!”

Kenny’s glare shifted to Cartman. “Don’t call him that.”

“You didn’t deny it~” He turned back to Kyle before Kenny could officially react. “Well, we’re waiting.” 

Kyle rolled his eyes and stood up, grabbing his things as he did so. “Fine. I don’t even want to know what you guys are going to talk about.” Stan knew that was a lie. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Cartman waved his hand at him. “Bye. You can go.”

Kyle scrunched his nose, but said nothing as he left towards Craig’s table.

Stan sighed. “Cartman, what is this even about?”

Cartman held the fork he was using between his teeth as he began to dig through his bag. “You’ll see.” Just as another chair was being pulled out along with the sound of a tray slamming down at their table, Cartman pulled out a plastic pencil box. It was seemingly filled with small blank pieces of paper. “Craig, _good_ , you came!” With the way he said it, Stan couldn’t tell whether he was sarcastically jabbing at him or not.

“What do you fucking want?”

Cartman narrowed his eyes at him. “Well, I’ve been racking my brain over everything, how to use my _authorit-ah_ as king to… _progress_ your relationships.”

Stan groaned while Craig muttered out a ‘fucking Christ’ and Kenny laughed, asking, “Did it fucking hurt thinking that hard?”

His face grew aflame as he turned to punch Kenny in the arm, who just laughed a bit harder.

“You’re an asshole, _Kinny_!” He huffed and placed the box in the middle of the table so they could all equally surround it. “I came up with an idea. I want you guys to go on dates with your new lovers.” He said this with a raise and lower of his eyebrows.

“Dates?” Craig wrinkled his nose in disgust. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Yup!” He grabbed the box and shook it to mix the contents on the inside. “I took the honor, because I’m a _nice_ king, to come up with the ideas. You just have to pick one.” He opened the box up and smiled. It was a smile Stan knew he couldn’t trust.

“This is dumb.”

"Don't you start with me, Craig. If I remember correctly, you were sitting with Tweek, not _Kyle_." This earned an eye roll from Craig. “Now why is that Craig?”

“I didn’t want to sit with _Kyle_ and you dweebs.” He leaned back in his chair with crossed arms. “Highly doubt Kyle would be on board with changing seats.”

“I don’t give a shit about what you want,” Cartman hissed at him. “Just fucking take a paper and deal with it. Stop having such a huge dick up your ass. _Christ_!”

“No.”

Stan sighed as they began to bicker, Cartman giving Craig threats as he retaliated with sarcastic and simple remarks. He began to wonder for a brief moment if he should just give up and let Cartman enjoy his show of torture porn with him in the spotlight, but his thoughts began to drift to something that changed his mind.

He had thought back to the conversation he had with Tweek the day before, one of the rare times where he wasn’t jittery from too much caffeine. ‘ _Butters is human too, you know. He’ll have his bad days and he’ll have his good days, even when he looks like every day is the best one he’s had. I… I think you should give him a chance. He’s a really sweet guy and he’s always willing to help if you need it. And, hey, you never know, you can find some unhindered feelings you may have._ ’ All of this was said with him playing the piano instrumental of the song they needed to work on. He huffed out a small laugh at the memory with a slight shake of his head. He always found Tweek to be a bit strange, but in an endearing way. Unfortunately, he sort of yelled at him after that. 

“Something funny, Stan?”

Stan looked at Cartman, his face a bright red. “Nah, man. It’s nothing.” _He chose to listen to Tweek for the moment._ He reached into the small plastic box and shuffled the small pieces of paper around before carefully pulling out a single slip of paper for himself.

“See! Stan isn’t being a little bitch, Craig. _Thank you_ , Stan!”

Craig gave Cartman one of his signature middle fingers as Stan opened the folded paper. _Meteor Shower Date._ “I got-”

Cartman intensely hushed him. “That’s only for you and _Butters_ to know. _Jesus_ , Stan.”

“Why can’t we know?” Kenny asked.

“Because I don’t want you and Craig trying to interrupt each other.”

“I really don’t give a shit about what he’s gonna do with Kyle.”

“ _No_ , but you do care about what Stan is going to do with Butters.”

At this, Kenny glanced at Stan before glaring at Cartman. “Stop saying that.”

“Stop making it true,” he retorted.

Kenny scoffed and reached into the box himself. “This is a load of shit.”

“Exactly my point,” Craig chimed.

Cartman looked as if he was going to explode with rage, so Stan decided to say, “So, we just tell them you want us to do this and we do it. That’s really all to it.”

“ _No_ ! Do _not_ tell them that it was my idea. You have to make it look like you thought of this, got it?” He glared at Craig. “ _Got it_?”

Craig gave an annoyed sigh. “Whatever. This is still dumb.”

“Goddamn it, Craig. Why can’t you just shut the fuck up?”

The two began to bicker again. Stan took this time to stare down at the paper he held. _How in the world was he going to bring this up? Isn’t it too early to do something like this? Wouldn’t Butters know that he wasn’t the one to come up with the idea?_ He glanced over where Butters sat with the other two teens forced to do this dare. He was currently laughing at something Jimmy had said, who had a lopsided smile of triumph. Stan felt a drop in his stomach and his mouth become dry. He pulled his eyes away from them just in time to see his heavy-weighted friend begin to grab his belongings. 

“Text. Me.” Cartman stood up with the box tucked under his arm, beginning to repeatedly do the ‘I’m watching you’ gesture with his hand, walking away from them backwards. Stan shook his head. _For some reason, Cartman was really adamant on having them stay together for the two months. But… why?_

Stan began to eat his lunch as quickly as he could before they were kicked out of the cafeteria by the lunch ladies. It sucked having to sit by the two people he currently disliked, but there wasn’t exactly a better place to go.

He heard Craig huff and saw him stand up with his tray. “I can’t do this. I’m not sitting here with you twats.” Stan watched as he walked back to his table and forcibly pushed Kyle to the side to sit himself next to Tweek. He shook his head and turned back to his meal, but not before noticing Kenny intensely staring at him.

_Great. Way to make it extra awkward, Kenny._

He tried to ignore him, hoping it would help get rid of the unsettled feeling he had. He finished his lunch and began to gather his belongings to leave the uncomfortable situation. He briskly walked over the the trash bins to throw his trash away and began to leave the cafeteria. 

Trying to ignore everyone else in the room, he passed by other groups trying to get to the door. As he passed by the final table and reached the door, he heard his name being said. He paused and turned to look at the table, which was filled with a group of gossiping girls. He made eye contact with one of the girls, a blonde he didn’t recognize. She smiled and winked at him. He gave her a half smile and left. _He didn’t know why they were talking about him, but he had a bad feeling._

As he began to wander around the hallway, the bell rang for students to make their way to their final class. Stan made his way to the choir room to meet up with the music group he participated with. The class was a double block so he had them for both his days, one class with their singers, one class without.

Once reaching the room, Stan went to find a seat on the bleachers and began to unpack his acoustic guitar along with his music sheets. He looked through his sheets and found what he circled to work on and he began practicing. Over time, the other students came in, the only ones he relatively knew were Tweek and Token. He watched as the two shared a quiet conversation next to the piano and Stan wondered for a brief moment if he should walk up and apologize to Tweek. He wasn’t sure what he should say. He decided to do it later whenever he had come up with a good way to apologize to him without it sounding half-assed.

He continued to focus on the sound of his guitar as he scanned through the pages of his music. As he played, he heard someone settle themself beside him. He took a peek and saw that it was Token. “Hey, man.”

“Hey.”

The was a pause between them.

“So…” Stan looked at Token, who still kept his focus on his own guitar. “What did you and the guys talk about?”

He rolled his eyes. “Fucking Cartman. It’s like-” He paused himself. _He couldn’t risk openly talking to Token about it._ He gave a gentle strum to fill the sudden silence between them. “It’s like one thing isn’t enough, you know?” _He hoped Token would get what he was trying to say._

He nods and joins Stan in his strumming, 

“Yeah, I get it.” He gave a small scoffing laugh. “He was practically bouncing in his seat in Debate.”

“Yeah, sounds like him.”

They ended that conversation for the time being and played alongside each other for practice. Stan going over certain parts he knew would be difficult and Token just going along with him.

After a while of all the mixed insumentals, the familiar clicks of heels came out of the corner office of the choir room. Their instructor popped into view scanning the room, before stopping on the pianist. “Tweek, dear, can you come here?” The faint playing of the piano stopped. “I have your new sheet papers for our new songs,” she told him before disappearing again.

“Okay,” he quickly replied. He stumbled over the bench and awkwardly made his way towards her office.

As soon as he disappeared behind the door, Stan quickly turned to Token. “Don’t tell Cartman I told you this. He wants us to do dates. Like he came up with ideas and everything and had us pick a random one.”

Token gave a short laugh. “Oh shit, really?”

Stan nods. “Don’t tell Tweek either. Or Kyle, or Butters. Cartman said he wanted us to look like we came up with the ideas.”

He arched up an eyebrow. “It’ll be really obvious if you guys aren’t really feeling the ‘relationship.’”

“I know!” 

“What are you supposed to do?”

“I got a ‘meteor shower date’ or whatever. It’ll give me time to mentally prepare myself at least.”

“It takes you two days to do that?”

Stan stopped and looked at Token. “Two days? What do you mean?”

“The meteor shower is on Friday.”

“Friday? This Friday?” He nods in response. “Fuck, I’m supposed to be working.” He pulled out his phone from his bag. “Hold on.” He unlocked it and began to look for Cartman’s contact. He quickly sent him a message:

_Meteor shower?_

_Dude i work on Friday i can't do that_

“Can’t you just do something else?” Token asked. “It’s not like Cartman would know.”

“Probably not. I’m not gonna risk it though. I know him and he’s crazy.”

“Boys, no talking.” Stan jumped at the sudden voice and looked over to their teacher who was looking at the pair with narrowed eyes. “Focus on your songs.”

“Sorry, Mrs. Barker,” the two simultaneously apologized.

The two shared a look before continuing to play their songs.

* * *

After the class was over, Stan began to pack away his guitar and made sure it was properly placed before closing the case and grabbing his belongings to leave. He gave a small goodbye to Tweek and Token and left the room. He began to make his way through the hallway, making sure to stop by the bathrooms to change into his work shirt. The stupid pink and white uniform that smelled of churros no matter how much he washed it. He made sure to make sure he looked decent enough in the mirror before regathering his belongings.

Before he left the bathroom, he checked his phone.

_well you better figure something out_

Stan groaned. _Fuck_. He shoved his phone into his pocket and shrugged his coat back on before making his way through the hallways once again. He finally left the school and walked through the small crowds of people to find his car where he usually parked it. 

Unlocking it, he placed his bags in the back seat before climbing into the driver’s seat. He turned on his car and sent a text to Butters asking him if he still needed a ride. As he waited for a response, he took the time to change out his CD. He grabbed his phone again and began to scroll through it as he waited.

He heard a tap on his window and he looked up to see Butters waving at him. He unlocked the doors to let him in and he watched as the teen settled himself in the passenger seat. “Sorry, I was hangin’ with Craig and Kyle in the library,” he told him as he strapped in his seatbelt.

“You’re good, dude.” Stan leaned forward to turn up his music and began to drive him home. They didn’t speak any more than that, keeping their usual silence between them. Stan noticed that Butters wasn’t in such a bad mood as he was yesterday. He wondered for a brief moment what it was exactly that had gotten him so out of character. He wanted to ask, but didn’t think Butters would want to talk about it at the moment.

After a bit, he reached the familiar brown house and parked in front of it. He turned down the volume of the music, but as he did so, it had raised his nerves about the following question he knew he had to ask.

“Thank you, Stan.” He saw him reach for his bag. _He needed to ask._

“Yeah, no problem… So, uh, Butters,” he saw him perk up from his seat to look at him, “Are you doing anything this Friday?”

He looked up in thought. “I don’t think so.” He looked back at Stan. “Why?”

“I…” he paused, trying to think of a way to tell him. “I've been wanting to apologize to you for the way I’ve been acting, so,” he took a deep breath, “in celebration, I guess, of our ‘relationship,’ I wanted to treat you to something.” 

It didn’t take him long to brighten up considerably. “Like a date?”

He felt his face begin to flush as he began to feel awkward. “Y-yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“Really? Ah geez, Stan, you ain’t gotta do that.”

Stan hesitated. “But I am.”

“Yes! I don’t mind.” His smile faltered. “Oh, well, I’d have to ask my parents first, but I’ll let you know.” With a wide smile, he turned to open the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

“Yeah…”

He hopped out of the car and gave Stan a small wave. “Bye, Stan.” He closed the door and left him alone.

Stan watched as Butters walked up to his house and entered it after a moment. _Why would he agree on going on a ‘date’ with him? It's not like he actually wants to. He probably knew that it wasn’t his idea. He didn’t understand why Cartman wanted them to do this so badly._

Stan sighed and started to drive again, this time passing by his house to go to his workplace instead. He tried to come up with an excuse to give to somehow get a night off on Friday.

He parked in the lot of the dessert place he chose to work at, _Mick’s Churros and Delights_. He sighed and let the back of his head hit his seat. He dug through his bag and pulled out the matching pink hat with the signature churro on it and replaced his beanie with it. He climbed out of his car and made his way towards the building. 

Now to try to convince his manager to let him off his shift on Friday.


	5. Chapter 5

“Stanley?”

Stan jerked awake when he felt someone shake him with the gentle call of his name. He turned a bit to see his mom standing beside his bed with her hand on his shoulder. He groaned and rubbed at his eyes. “Yeah?”

“I know you’re tired from work, but you have to get up for school.”

He groaned again and covered his face with his arm to block the incoming light from the morning sun. “Okay…”

There was a pause from her. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

He nods. “Yeah, just… give me a minute. I’ll be up and ready,” he mumbled out.

Another pause from her. “Okay… I’ll be downstairs then.” He heard her footsteps as she moved to leave his room and close his door.

He took a moment to himself, trying to urge himself to get up for the day. After another minute or so, he uncovered his face and moved to get up from the comfort of his bed. He yawned as he went over to his closet to pick out his clothes for the day, something simple. He stared down at the t-shirt and jeans he had grabbed. The voice in the back of his mind told him to ‘not be gross and just take a quick shower,’ but something else was telling him to ‘just fuck it.’

Deciding to just skip the morning shower for the day, he changed his clothing and got himself to look presentable for the day. He went over to the bathroom to quickly brush his teeth and add on cologne and deodorant for the day. After he finished, he went back to his room to grab his belongings and his guitar before making his way back out of his room and down the stairs. As he did so, a familiar smell of a sweet mixture of batter and maple reached him. He placed his belongings down on the couch, placing his phone in his pocket, and went over to the kitchen just in time to see his mom placing down two plates of pancakes with sides of sausage on the table.

“Oh, Stan! You came just in time.”

“You made breakfast?”

“ _ Yes _ .” She raised her eyebrow at him. “Why do you sound so surprised?”

He shrugged. “You don’t do it as much anymore.” He sat down and immediately began to scarf down the food. “‘s good,” he mumbled, mouth full.

She shook her head at this and began eating her own plate. “Thank you, and I’ll try to do it more often for us.”

He swallowed what was in his mouth before responding. “It’s fine, mom. I know you’re busy with work and all.” He prodded at the edge of one of the pancakes with his fork. “I… could try cooking too?” His mom choked back on laughter and he furrowed his eyebrows and looked at her. “What?”

She waved her hand dismissively and shook her head. “I just remembered when your father tried to show you how to make something,” she began to laugh, but tried to hold back, “but you ended up ruining the meal and almost burnt down the house.” She let herself laugh out loud while Stan felt his face flush in embarrassment at the memory. “Your father was freaking out and running around screaming while you were trying to put out the fire with that stupid shirt he had you and your sister wear.”

He rolled his eyes. “He was more concerned about the weed  _ and  _ the shirt.”

Her laughter died down to little giggles. “He  _ was _ . But if you  _ do _ start cooking again, please try to not burn down this house.”

He grumbled, but still muttered an, “Okay...”

His phone began to buzz repeatedly in his pocket and he pulled it out to see who was trying to contact him.

_ Speaking of the Devil.  _

He stared down at the contact picture of his dad lighting up his screen. He watched it as it buzzed in his hand, waiting for it to pass. 

It wasn’t like he had any sort of falling out with his father, it was just… he didn’t want to talk to him. It didn’t help when he had a gut feeling that the call was only to drag him into some other crazy ‘adventure.’

“Who was that?”

“Cartman.” He was quick to lie. “I’ll see what he wants when I get to school.”

After a moment, he turned his phone back on to check the time and his eyes widened.“Shit, I have to go!” He shoved the rest of his food into his mouth and quickly stood up, placing the used dishes in the sink. “Bye, mom! I’ll see you after school!” He called out to his mom as he grabbed his bags and key, leaving the house. He threw his things into the backseat of his car, though he was careful with his guitar, and hopped into the driver’s seat. He quickly turned on the car and drove down a couple houses to reach Butters’ house just in time to see the blonde currently locking the front door. He honked the car’s horn to get his attention and watched as he jolted in surprise before turning around. A smile began to grow on his face and he made his way over to his car to get inside.

“I can go!” Was the first thing Butters exclaimed when he hopped into his car.

It took Stan a moment to realize what he was talking about.  _ The date. _ “Oh, cool, man. That’s great.” He began to drive them to school, carefully watching the area for any unwanted officers as he sped.

“So, what are we going to do?”

“Uh…”  _ Fucking watch meteors, how boring must that be. _ “It’s a surprise…”  _ He could probably find out a way to make him not fall asleep in the middle of it. _

“Really?” He clasped his hands together. “I’m real excited for it, then!” 

_ Fuck, he probably just made it worse for himself.  _ He shrugged, trying not to seem too worried about it. “Well, I hope you like it.”

“I’m sure I will!” 

Stan felt himself smile at the blonde’s excitement before it suddenly wiped itself away. “Oh, sorry for being late, by the way.”

“It’s fine.” He laughed awkwardly. “I actually thought you forgot about me.”

“Nah, dude.”  _ There’s honestly no way he could.  _ “Just next time I’m late or something, stop by my house. Other than that, I’ll try to be on time to pick you up.”

“Okay. I’ll keep that in mi- gah!”

Stan had sharply pulled to a stop into a parking space, making them both jerk forward in their seats. “Sorry, dude.” He apologized as he hopped out of his vehicle and grabbed his things. 

He quickly grabbed Butters’ hand and began to drag him to the front entrance as quickly as he could so they wouldn’t be late. They quickly made their way through the twist and turns of the hallway before finally reaching the lockers. They separated and Stan was quick to replace the books in his bag before closing the locker. He quickly checked the time on his phone.  _ They somehow made it with five minutes to spare. _ He put his phone away again and turned in time to see Butters making his way towards him.

He stopped directly in front of him and gave an awkward laugh. “I guess we gotta start findin’ somethin’ to do before we leave each other, huh?”

Stan lifted an eyebrow in question. “Like what?”

“Like hugging, or walking to class,  _ or _ …” He shifted in his spot. “We could take turns givin’ kisses.” He quickly added, “Only if you want to.” He shrugged. “Or we could change it up. It’s whatever you want. Just so it looks authentic, you know?”

He couldn’t help but glance over Butters’ head to see a small group staring at the two, whispering to each other. He felt the sudden need to prove himself to them, even though he had no clue who they were.

Looking back to the turquoise eyes that watched him with curiosity, he opened his mouth to answer, but no voice came out. He hesitated for another moment, but in the end, finally agreed. “Y-yeah, man.” He saw him tilt his head slightly and he realized that he wasn’t specific, so he added, “We could do all of that, and I guess we could, uh…”  _ kiss... _ “Just  _ not _ like-” He couldn’t even bring himself to say it.

He nodded with a small smile. “I won’t. I promise, Stan.” His voice was gentle and reassuring. He took a small step towards him and he saw him tilt his head slightly.

Stan wondered briefly what he was going to do, almost jumping out of his skin when he felt him press his lips gently against the right side of his jaw. He felt a shudder run through his body and his face became warm at a rapid pace. He suddenly began to feel self-conscious and he began to wish he had taken the shower. 

Butters pulled away from him and flashed him a smile. “I’ll see you later.” Then he disappeared. Stan didn’t know which direction he went, he was more focused on what happened just seconds ago. Though Stan knew that it was probably not even longer than two, maybe three, seconds, it had felt a lot longer than that. The spot where he once had his lips felt tingly and warm. 

Stan felt dizzy. Dizzy and extremely nauseous. He took in a shuddering breath and tried to calm himself. He needed to get through this day and he didn’t want to try to explain why he might have passed out or suddenly became ill.

After a short moment, he decided that he was fine and adjusted the grip on his guitar case before leaving his spot in front of his locker.

He passed by the group that was staring at them earlier and couldn’t help but hear a snippet of their conversation.

“No  _ way _ . I don’t think they are.” One of the girls stated.

“Really? Did we not just see the same thing?” The guy in their group asked. “They must be dating. I mean, Butters  _ just _ kissed Stan.”

“Yeah, but-”

Stan didn’t stay long enough to hear her rebuttal, it’s not like he wanted to either.  _ The tingling on his jaw felt intensified in that moment. The nerves were coming back. The nausea was too. _

He tried to hurry to his class, but instead of taking the right at the end of the hallway, he turned a sharp left and went straight to the bathrooms. He crammed himself into one of the stalls before bending over the toilet and emptying out his stomach.

He pulled away from the toilet, grimacing at the new taste in his mouth, and at that moment, the tardy bell rang. He groaned out a “Fuck,” and moved to get up. He flushed the toilet and left the stall to clean himself up at the sink. He cleaned off his face and made sure to swish around some water in his mouth and spit it out to try to help with the bittersweet taste he had.

He wiped his face with a paper towel before trudging out of the bathroom to head to his first class of the day. He dreaded the glare he was sure to get from his teacher and the whiny voice she had whenever she would screech at a late student. He reached the classroom of his Life Science class and gave a deep sigh before knocking on the door to be let inside.

* * *

Stan was right. He did in fact receive an earful from his teacher about being late, even when he tried to explain that he wasn’t feeling all that well, so yelling at him wasn’t helping… This only made her yell at him more. He was happy to leave when the class ended. As much as he enjoyed the class, the teacher ruined it for him over the past year. 

He reached his next class of the day, Poetry, only to see a note on the door that told his class that they were taking place in the library instead. He groaned and turned away to head to the library instead. 

Once he reached the library, he greeted the librarian and she told him that his class was being held towards the back, near the large windows and second exit. He thanked her and made his way towards the back where he saw a group of tables sectioned off with a sign that read ‘ _ poetry _ .’ After finding a table in one of the corners, he set his belongings down on it, not exactly wanting to welcome others to sit with him. Though, he did leave enough space for an extra person to sit across from him, not wanting to be the victim of another yelling spree.

He pulled out his notebook for his class and opened it, knowing exactly what their teacher would want them to do.  _ Use your surroundings to write your next poem. Try changing up your positions and scenery, this could help you with your writing process.  _ He opened up to a fresh page, trying to think of something specific to write about.

“Hey, dude,” a mellow voice called out to him, making him look up to see Douglas. “Mind if I sit here with ya?”

He shrugged. “Yeah, man.”

He mumbled out a thanks and sat across from him while Stan looked back down to continue to stare down at the blank page he still had. He didn’t exactly feel inspired to write a poem for the moment. He decided to look around at the new surroundings of the blocked off corner they were seating at as he tapped a gentle beat with his pencil. His other classmates were moving around, wandering the library, or taking new, strange positions in their chairs. Their teacher was seated in a lounge chair, reading a book, peeking up every now and then to make sure everyone was still okay. He perked up when he saw a peek of untamed blonde hair.  _ Tweek. He could talk to him now. He needed to apologize to him anyway. _

He leaned forward and waved his hand in front of the teen seated across from him. “Hey, Douglas.”

He glanced at him and pulled out one of the earbuds from his ear. “Yeah?”

“Can you watch my stuff?”

“Yeah, man. I gotchu,” he told Stan as he placed the earbud back into his ear.

“Thanks, man.” He stood up from his seat, bringing his notebook with him. He slowly made his way to where Tweek was sitting by himself.

He stopped beside him, hoping he would notice, but to no avail. Instead, he continued to write fiercely on whatever had gotten him inspired. He gently tapped the table to get his attention. “Tweek, hey.” 

The blonde jumped in his seat with a shocked yelp and looked up at Stan with wide eyes. “Stan!” He scrambled to cover the notebook. “Wh-what do you-  _ ggrr- _ want?”

He motioned to the chair next to him. “Can I sit here?” 

He stared at Stan with wide, flickering eyes. He pressed his lips together and looked back down at his journal. “Fine.”

He pulled out the chair to sit next to him and stared back at the blank page he had. He began to tap out another beat with his pencil, trying to think of how to converse with the blonde at the moment.

“Stan, wh-what do you want?”

He looked back at him, noticing how he had an annoyed look now. “I… I wanted to apologize.” He stopped tapping his pencil. “Well, I was trying to think of a way to apologize.”

“ _ For _ ?”

“For… getting upset and yelling at you the other day. I took some time to myself and realized that… that you were right in a way.” Tweek didn’t say anything, he only stared at him with owl-like eyes. Stan decided to add, “About Butters. You were right about him and I thought it over and finally decided to do something to make it up to him.”

“Like?”

Stan bit his lip.  _ Would Cartman count this against him? It wasn’t like he was spilling out his idea entirely. _ “Uh… Well, I was gonna take him to watch the meteor shower tomorrow.” Tweek twitched and Stan immediately thought he didn’t like the idea himself. “I know, I know. It sounds boring but…”  _ Cartman wants him to do it... _

Tweek’s eyes lit up and he smiled. “I think he would love that.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “Craig and I usually invite him and Kenny and his sister to watch it with us. Craig knows all the good spots.” Stan grimaced.  _ The last thing he wanted to do was ask the other ravenette for help. _ Tweek noticed this and continued on. “Ah, w-well there’s a good spot near Middle Park High. There’s this open park, Lansen Park, I think. You could take Butters there?”

Stan nodded and thought for a moment. “Yeah, I could do that."

“You can…” His eyes brightened. “It could be like a picnic date. I can help you make some food if you want.”

“Really?”

He nodded rapidly. “We can start setting up during lunch tomorrow and skip Variety. Mrs. Duran loves me so she won’t care much if I let her know today.”  _ Stan has never seen Tweek this excited before.  _ “Token and Nichole could help too! They could set up the spot while we get the food ready.” He pulled out his phone and began to quickly tap away at the screen. All Stan could do was watch the blonde with his mouth agape. “I can make you guys cupcakes!”

“You don’t-”

“Butters really likes vanilla and lemon cupcakes. He has to be in the mood for chocolate or to try anything new.”

“Tweek-”

“Or should we make cookies, he  _ loves _ cookies. He’s usually my taste-tester whenever I bake something new.”

“Tweek!” The blonde flinched and looked at him with wide eyes. “You  _ don’t _ have to do this. I can find a way to do it myself.”

He tilted his head and leaned forward. “But I  _ want _ to do it, Stan.”

He groaned and pinched his nose for the moment. 

“ _ Stan _ ,” he looked back at him, “I  _ want _ to do this, so I’m  _ going _ to do this.” 

The determined look on his face almost made Stan laugh out loud, but he was scared that the blonde was going to turn feral if he did so or if he refused the offer again. He sighed. “Okay, fine.”

Tweek went back to smiling. “I’m so excited for this. I’m sure Butters will love it. You’ll tell me how it goes, will you?”

“Yeah, sure.”

He turned back to his notebook, shaking his head at himself for letting this happen. He didn’t even know how they had even gotten there. He just wanted to apologize, not invite him to plan the entirety of the ‘date.’

He heard Tweek shift in his seat. “ _ Urgh _ , Stan?” He hummed in response. “Are you feeling okay?”

Stan looked back at him. “What do you mean?”

“You’re, like, either upset at something or sad nowadays. There's barely an in-between anymore. I mean,  _ mn _ , you smile, but it doesn’t look right. Are… are you not feeling good?” 

He shrugged. “I’m fine. I can be upset or mad, you know.” He looked over towards his original table to make sure his belongings were untouched. 

“Okay, well…” Stan looked back at the fidgety teen and saw him picking at one of the band-aids on his hands with a frown. “You can talk to me too. It doesn’t just have to be about Butters, you can talk to me about other problems too. Craig does that with me; letting me talk about how I feel and he just listens and lets me know…" He drifted off. He was silent for another moment before speaking up again. "W-we could do that too. I mean, we’re friends, right?”

Stan nodded. “ _ I _ think so.” He shrugged. “You  _ do _ get on my nerves sometimes.”

“ _ Huh _ ? I  _ do _ !”

Stan chuckled. “I’m just messing with you, man.”

Tweek pouted and smacked his arm, which only made him laugh.

“You’re such a jerk!” He paused. “Hey, are you… are sure you’re okay?”

Stan looked at the blonde with his eyebrow raised in question. “I’ll be  _ fine _ , Tweek.”

“No, no. It’s not that. You keep on, uh…” He poked at his own jaw, making himself flinch. “Touching your jaw. Does it hurt?”

He quickly dropped his hand and felt himself become embarrassed. “Ah, no. It doesn’t.”  _ He didn’t realize that he was touching the spot from earlier. How long had he been doing that? How many times did he do that in front of Tweek? God, he felt like throwing up again. _ He swallowed the sudden overflow of saliva in his mouth and turned back to the blonde. “It’s, uh, noth…” he drifted off.  _ Could he ask Tweek about the feeling? Would he know about the sudden bundle of nerves he would get practically out of the blue when being close to Butters? Does that happen with him and other people?  _ Before he could stop it, he told him, “Hey, I have a question.” Tweek looked at him. “So, uh, I tried to ask Kenny but it… didn’t exactly work out. I, uh… How do I-?” He sighed, becoming frustrated with himself. “It started whenever I dropped Butters off on Tuesday. He-”

“Tweek!” Stan immediately stopped his explanation of the situation on his mind when the familiar, annoyingly nasally voice called out. The pair turned to the owner of the voice.

“Craig! What are you doing here?”

“We’re about to test out the hover toys we made outside.” He pointed towards the window. “Wanna watch?”

“Sure!” He turned back to Stan. “What were you going to ask?”

He opened his mouth but was quick to close it. Taking a small glance toward Craig who was watching him intensely, he shook his head. “Nothing, man. It’s not important.”

Tweek’s eyebrows knitted together. “Are you sure?”

Stan nodded. “Yeah. You’re good, man. You can go with Craig. I can wait.”

The look he gave Stan was uncertain, but he still began to grab all of his belongings. He stood up and leaned towards Stan, lowering his voice. “You-  _ gnh- _ have my number, right?” Stan nods, noticing the harsh look given to him by the taller ravenette teen. “J-just call or text me and we can talk about it.” He gave him a smile before leaving with Craig.

Stan groaned once he saw the pair leave the building and let his forehead hit the table.

_ Fuck. Why did he say that? He really needed to get off his chest how he felt. He didn’t understand it and he didn’t like that. He wanted to know why he felt that way. He didn’t think he would last long without vomiting again. _

* * *

Tweek didn’t come back after he left, which didn’t help Stan at all. A part of him had hoped he would come back so he could finally tell him about it instead of waiting until he snapped. But today wasn’t that day, unfortunately.

The bell rang and Stan moved to grab his things, thanking Douglas for watching them for him as he did so. He made sure that he still had everything in his bag before leaving the library to go to his third class of the day, Regular Trigonometry.

This was another class where the teacher didn’t care much about what they did after they finished learning the new lesson of the day. All he had to do was shut up and make sure he made his notes understandable enough for his homework. Easy.

Their lesson of the day was a lengthy one, but after an hour or so, it had come to an end. Stan and his classmates received the homework for the lesson and were left to their own devices.

Stan didn’t want to work on the homework at the moment. He never did it when he got it anyways. Instead, he decided to look around to see if there was anyone he would bother talking to for the moment. The third familiar blonde of the day caught his eyes.  _ Fuck it, why not? Maybe she could actually give him some advice for his ‘date.’ _ He stood from his seat with his pencil and notebook and walked over to the girl in question.

“Hey, Bebe.” 

She held up her newly manicured index finger at him as she finished writing down whatever number she construed. Once she was done scribbling them down, she tapped on her phone and pressed pause on whatever she was listening to. She looked up at him with a big smile as she pulled out her headphones from her ears. “Hi, Stannie!”

He motioned towards the empty spot beside her that held her bag. “Do you mind?”

“Yeah, sure.” She grabbed her bag and placed it nearby her feet as Stan sat down in the now available seat.

“Thanks…” He looked down at the sheet and drummed his pencil against the desk. “So…” He paused before sighing. “I… I think I need your help.”

“Okay!” She began to adjust her notebook and calculator on her desk. “Now, this lesson is kicking my ass, but I think I’m getting it.” She leaned closer to look at his sheet. “What do you need help with?”

“No, not with the work.”

“ _ Oh _ ,” She leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed, nodding as if she suddenly understood. “I knew it. I knew the day would come.”

“For what?”

“To fix your greasy ass hair.  _ God _ , do you know how much I have to hold myself back from holding you down and cleaning it? Seriously, Stan!”

“What? No!” He lifted his hand to touch some of the loose strands that peeked out from under his hat.  _ She was right.  _ “Okay, maybe it is, but that’s not why I need your help either.”

She rolled her eyes. “One of these days, Marsh.”

He rolled his own eyes in turn. “So, anyways, long story, short: I don’t know how I did it, but Tweek planned my entire ‘ _ date _ ’ with Butters.”

“You… wanted to take Butters on a date?”

He froze and after a moment, he slowly nodded. “Yes, I was going to take Butters on a date.”

She smirks. “Let me guess, Cartman’s idea,” she whispered.

He scoffed out a laugh but nodded as if to answer ‘yes’. “ _ No _ , it was  _ totally  _ my idea.”

She laughs. “I gotcha, I gotcha. So you just want my advice, right?”

He nods. “Yeah, uh… what do I do?”

“For?”

“Like, while we’re there on the date together.”

“Stan… I’m a girl…”

“Yeah.”

“And I’m interested in men…”

“Yeah?”

“Stan, the answer I will give you is just advice on how to get him to like you enough to get laid.”

He felt his face become a dark shade of red. “No! I-I don’t-!”

She held up her finger again, making Stan immediately snap his mouth closed. “I know, I know. That’s the last thing you want. ” She gently tapped her chin as she pouted her lips and looked up in thought. “If I actually had to try to give you genuine advice… I’d say just… act like you usually do with him. Just treat as if you two are hanging out without the guys. You don’t have to romanticize it if you don’t want to. Take away everything with Cartman and it’s just two friends hanging out, right?” She shrugged. “It can also give you both time to actually talk to each other about everything without pressure from anyone else at this gossip-driven school.” She nodded to herself. “Damn, I should do this more often, I’m fucking good at this.”

Stan snorted out a laugh. “Sure.”

“You say it as if you don’t believe in me, Stannie. You’re so mean to-”

Out of the blue, she grabbed Stan’s face and contorted it to an awkward angle. “Ow, Bebe! What are you-”

“Sweetie, there’s nothing there. Why do you keep on rubbing it? It’s annoying me.”

She let go of his face and he rubbed his left cheek where her nails dug into his skin. “I don’t know. I just…”  _ He began to think of Butters and the tingling came back.  _ “It’s just bothering me, that’s it.” He rubbed at it again and practically had to force his hand away. “So, you just want me to throw out everything Cartman put in our heads for tomorrow night and just… hang out.”

She snapped her fingers into a finger gun. “Exactly.”

He thought over it for a moment. Thinking of how much he had to do for the stupid date he had to sit through tomorrow.  _ What she said… actually helped? _ He sighed and nodded to himself. “Okay… Okay, I think I got it. Thank you, Bebe.”

She smiled brightly. “You’re welcome, Stannie.” She grabbed her headphones and moved to place them back into her ears, but stopped. “Oh, and Stan, if you want to add ‘extra points’,  _ wash your hair _ and look nice - decent, even. It’ll look like you're taking your ‘date’ seriously to him rather than half-assing it.”

“That just sounds like a sneaky way to actually make me ‘doll up’ for you.”

“Oh, you  _ know _ it.”

He laughed. “Okay, just for you, Bebe.” 

She pumped her arm in triumph. “ _ Yes _ !” The bell rang for the class to end. “Holy shit, already?” She and Stan began to grab their belongings before meeting each other at the door. “Are you ready for practice?” She asked him as they began to walk together to their next shared class.

He shrugged. “I think I got enough not to fuck up today, so I’ll call that a ‘win’ for now.”

“ _ Stannie _ !” She whined.

“ _ Bebe _ !” Stan mimicked her.

“Our concert is next week!”

“I know.”

“Please tell me that you’ll actually be ready for the concert.”

“I will, I will, don’t worry.”

They reached the choir room and Stan opened the door for them both with his free hand. Just as they walked in, he saw Token setting up his own guitar for their practice. He looked up at them and immediately waved them over.

Stan walked over to him with Bebe in tow to find out what the teen had wanted.

“Hey, Token.”

“Hi, Stan.” He nodded at the blonde. “Hi, Bebe. So, uh, could you tell me why I got a message from Tweek telling me to skip class tomorrow?”

Bebe raised an eyebrow at him asking him for an answer from him as well. 

Stan sighed. “I brought up the date in passing after I apologized to him and he  _ insisted _ on helping out. Then he said that you and Nichole could help and then he just kept on going on and on about what to do. I tried to say ‘no,’ but he looked all determined, but murderous when I did. I’ve never seen him like that before, dude. It was scary as hell.”

Token laughed. “Yeah, you can thank Craig for that. He’s been trying to get Tweek to go for things he likes. It’s wholesome but scary.”

“Tell me about it.”

The tardy bell rang and the sound of heels on tile immediately followed. “Okay, ladies and gentlemen, I want you to start preparing immediately. We only have so much time together. We’ll go through our problem songs first. Let’s go, let’s go!”

Stan dropped his bag onto the bleachers behind Token. 

“I’m guessing I’m going to have to talk to Tweek about this, then.”

Stan pulled out his guitar and sat on the stool beside him. “You already know.”

* * *

After school had ended, Stan said his goodbyes to his friends in his final class before stopping by the bathrooms to change into his uniform for another shift at work. He then had to wait for Butters in his car for him to finish showering from his Auto Repair Workshop Class. Though it had taken longer than it had last time, it was worth not seeing him almost freeze himself to death with the lack of clothing.

He dropped Butters off at his house before driving to his job,  _ Mick’s Churros and Delights _ , and immediately headed inside. 

“Stan! Great, you’re here,” was the first thing he heard when he stepped inside the building. The manger, and owner, of the workplace, came from the back with a worried look on his face. “I have to go because of a family emergency. I’m leaving you in charge for the night. Clyde and Daisy should be coming in at any moment and I already have the next batch of goods in the oven with timers. If it’s slow, you can close early. Thank you.” He didn’t give Stan a chance to say anything before running out.

Stan sighed and slipped behind the counter to grab the drive-thru headset for the moment and to look at how long he needed to wait for until he needed to pull out the next batch of sweets for their night shift. After clocking in, he began to wait impatiently for his two co-workers to show up, not particularly happy to be the only one there to deal with people driving up or coming in just to give him attitude for a fucking churro.

After some time, a familiar “Hello, hello!” chimed along with the bell of the door.

Clyde popped up with his usual happy nature as he clocked in and Stan was more than glad to shove the headset he had in his hands and push him towards the designated register. “Stay,” he told him as if he were a learning puppy as he left to go check the schedule.  _ It’s been thirty minutes past her time. Where the fuck was Daisy? _ He came back out to see Clyde already at work with a customer at the drive-thru. He walked to him and tapped his arm.

“Yes, sir, we do have unsugared churros. Yes… Okay, does everything look correct on the screen?” He looked at Stan to show he was listening.

“Daisy?”

He shrugged, mouthing ‘no clue.’ “Alright, your total is going to be 11.38. Thank you.” He moved past Stan and immediately started to grab the customers’ order.

“Fuck, so it’s just us two then because I have no fucking way to contact her and Mick left.” He looked at the order screen and grabbed the sauces for Clyde as he bagged up the order.

“Shit, man.” He grabbed the sauces from Stan and placed them in the bag before moving to meet the customer at the window. 

Stan and Clyde went back and forth between completing orders and meeting up with the customers within the span of three hours. Their desserts were slowly running out and so was their patience, especially Stan’s. After a very tiresome customer, Stan hit his head against the wall. “I might just close us early.” He looked at the brunette. “I don’t want to fucking stay if we’re understaffed with  _ two _ people.”

Clyde nodded but looked a bit nervous. “Yeah, I get it, man.”

He pulled out his phone to text his manager to let him know of the situation but noticed a text from Tweek with a list of items he said he needed for tomorrow. He sighed at the message. He finally sent a text to Mick and turned to Clyde who was intensely staring at the few remaining churros. “Dude, wanna go to the store with me? I’ll buy you something.”

He had a look of excitement flash across his face. “Yeah, dude! Think you can drop me off home?”

Stan shrugged. “If you want me to.”

He smiled. “Awesome.”

“Okay, let’s go.” Stan shoved his phone into his pocket and moved to clock out.

“Now?”

“Yeah.” He grabbed the remaining churros and placed them in a bag for Clyde. “C’mon.” He began to make sure everything was properly shut down for the night before officially closing down the building. He handed Clyde the bag of extra churros as he enabled the alarm before making a beeline to go outside. As they stepped foot outside, they saw a few cars pull into the drive-thru. They shared a look and, choosing to ignore them, ran to Stan’s car. As they settled in, they made sure to drive past the line, laughing at them as they exited the parking lot. Stan drove them to the nearest grocery store, trying not to grimace too much at the lingering smell of churros on them.

After making it to the grocers, the two hopped back out of Stan’s car and made their way inside and grabbed a cart. It was quiet between them for the moment; Stan leading Clyde around the store as he nibbled on his churros. As they walked around and picked up specific items, Stan would glance down at his phone every now and then to make sure whatever he was grabbing was what Tweek wanted. The silence between them finally broke whenever they reached the aisle that held a large variety of chips.

“What do you even need all this for?” Clyde asked him, motioning towards the cart.

Stan hesitated. He slowly pulled a large bag of potato chips off the shelf. “I’m, uh, setting up something.”

Clyde bumped shoulders with him with a growing smirk. “For?”

“It’s something for… Butters…”

His face lit up. “Are you setting up a  _ date~ _ ?” He asked very loudly.

Stan felt his face warm up. He hushed at him with a “Dude, shut up!”  _ He didn’t know what was so different this time versus the rest of the day, but he felt embarrassed by the way Clyde said it to him.  _ He looked back at the chips in his hands. “I… I guess you can say that, yeah.”

“ _ Aw~! _ How cute!” Stan glared at him, which only got an awkward smile in return. He scratched the back of his neck as he reached for a bag of barbeque chips. “Ha ha, wasn’t that funny, Stan?”

“No.” He grabbed the chips from his hand, placing them in the cart before briskly walking off towards the fizzy drink section. It was silent between them once more, aside from Clyde’s low comments about how ‘cute’ the idea was… but Stan chose to ignore him as he did.

Stan looked down at the phone to see which soda to choose, but it wasn’t specific. He guessed it was free-range. He walked down the aisle and stopped when he saw the bright blue, red, and yellow he was looking for. He wrinkled his nose at the fruit punch soda that he knew the platinum blonde was fond of, not particularly fond of it himself. He pulled it off the shelf, along with a drink he knew he would like for himself. Clyde picked up a single bottle of soda for himself and placed it in the cart alongside his chips.

After going down the list on his phone one last time to make sure he was all set, he motioned for Clyde to follow as he went to the front where a cashier was already available for them. The two teens began to place all the different food items on the conveyor belt for the girl in front of them who looked like she was ready to pass out. Once they finished, they stood back and waited for the girl to finish up on her end. 

“So…” Clyde spoke up again, making Stan grimace. “Is it going to be like a romantic dinner with, like, a movie or-”

“Clyde, if you don’t shut up, I’m not buying you shit.”

A look of terror flashed across his face. “ _ No _ . You  _ wouldn’t _ .”

“I would, now shut up, will you?”

There was a silence between once again aside from the slow beep of the employee scanning their items. “But,” Clyde spoke up again, making Stan look at him with furrowed eyebrows. “If you two kiss, you  _ gotta  _ tell me.”

Stan’s eyes widened, before narrowing. “Dude, shut the  _ fuck _ up.”

Clyde began to laugh, pointing at him. “Oh my God, man! Your face is priceless!”

He pushed him, making him double over as he laughed harder, and turned to the girl scanning out their items. He pointed at the barbeque chips. “You can take these off.”

The brunette immediately stopped laughing. “No!” He put his hands out to stop the girl from reaching out to take them. “Not my chips!”

Stan nodded. “You’re right.” He pointed at the bottle of Dr. Pepper. “He doesn’t want the soda.” 

Clyde whined as the girl grabbed the soda and set it off to the side. Now  _ that _ made him shut up.

Once all their items were bagged they placed everything back into the cart and left the store. They headed to Stan’s car and made quick work of putting everything into the backseat of the car. Once they were finished, Stan turned on his car and waited for Clyde to return after offering to put back the cart.

He hopped inside and Stan began to drive them home. It continued to stay silenced between them for half the ride, but Clyde ruined it once again. Stan was sure he had a problem with it being a little  _ too _ quiet.

“Why did you take away my soda?”

He sighed. “Because you wouldn’t shut the fuck up, Clyde.”

“But you two are _cute_ together. You could be the next Tweek and Craig! I mean, _come_ _on_! The happy, ‘buddy-buddy’ blonde with the pessimistic douche of SPH.” This made Stan glare at the brunette, but it didn’t stop him from talking. He gasped and continued on. “And today I heard you two _kissed_ today! Do you know how-”

“We did not kiss!” He was beginning to feel light-headed.

“Whoa, man. You don’t have to yell at me. I'm just saying that it would be cute to see you two together.”

“I’m not gay! That won’t fucking happen.”

“Neither am I, but if you gotta kiss a bro, you gotta kiss a bro, you know.” Stan’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. “I mean, some people have told me and Token that we would be a cute couple, and,  _ hm _ , I don’t think either of us yelled at them.” There was a sarcastic bite to his tone.

Stan wanted to just drive his car into one of the passing lamp posts and hope for the worst. “Clyde, shut up…”

“I really don’t understand why you’re mad. I just said what my opinion was. It isn’t my fault that you have such a fragile masculinity to see things like I do.”

“I don’t-” He huffed angrily. “I’m mad because you keep calling me gay!”

“Dude, not once did I say you were gay. What I said was a joke!”

“I don’t give a shit if it was a joke or not Clyde! I’m seriously pissed off about everything with Butters and people like you are making it worse!”

He scoffed. “I’m making it worse?”

“Yes!”

“Fine.” He crossed his arms and began to pout like a child. 

The rest of their ride was silent with the atmosphere heavy. After some time, he pulled in front of Clyde’s house and parked his car. “Get the fuck out of my car.”

He huffed. “Geez, you  _ seriously _ can’t take a joke.” There was a pause in their ‘conversation’ as Clyde moved to get out. He grabbed his belongings and clutched his chips in his hands as if it was his last lifeline. He moved to close the door but stopped to lean down to look at Stan again. “Hey, Stan?”

“ _ What _ ?”

He tried stifling an upcoming laugh. “I’m guessing you can’t take a dick like you can’t take a joke, huh?”

Before Stan could respond, he slammed the door closed and bolted to the front door faster than Stan has ever seen before.

_ That fucking asshole. _

**Author's Note:**

> If any of you have any helpful criticism, comments, or questions, don't be afraid to ask.


End file.
